‘No one can touch us’: What Ross Perot Jr. knows about tariffs despite rhetoric

The future looks bright for the Texas economy, and lawmakers are listening to small businesses when it comes to things like tariffs, Ross Perot Jr. assured chambers of commerce leaders gathered Wednesday in Irving.

Perot, the businessman and real estate developer behind AllianceTexas in Fort Worth, is serving as chair of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He was keynote speaker at a meeting of chamber leaders from across Texas, weighing in on a variety of economic topics including tariffs, trade and federal policy.

Tariffs dominated much of the conversation when Perot spoke to reporters before giving his address to chamber attendees. Small business is the primary focus of chambers of commerce, and Perot said he and leaders in Washington are actively engaged in advocating for small business owners in the halls of Congress.

“In the short term, we’re in there fighting for forms of tariff relief,” said Perot.

In April, President Trump imposed steeper import tariffs on a wide range of goods, sending shockwaves through the economy. Many small businesses, in particular, were impacted when the cost of imported raw materials suddenly rose.

Days later, Trump announced a 90-day pause on those tariffs, something that Perot insinuated was the result of U.S. Chamber of Commerce lobbying. He said that pause helped small businesses react to the sudden changes.

According to U.S. Chamber of Commerce figures, new tariffs will cost small businesses approximately $200 billion a year.

Beth Bowman, president of the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce, said local chambers are business owners’ conduit to lawmakers and the people who can help them.

Perot added to that, saying he speaks directly with lawmakers, and what he’s seen gives him reason for hope, despite the increased polarization among elected officials.

“They all deeply know the problem,” Perot said when asked specifically about tariffs that are adversely affecting small businesses. “They know the immigration problem, they know the tariff problem, and they’re all working hard to try to get it fixed. Backstage, they know it. Onstage, you might get rhetoric, but our job at the chamber is to really work pure data backstage. And we’re trusted by the elected officials. If we tell them something, they’re going to know this isn’t PR spin.”

Perot said part of his job as board chair is to encourage lawmakers to make the “tough vote,” the one that’s best for constituents and not necessarily best for the party.

In Perot’s opinion, there should be no tariffs, but he acknowledged that’s not the world we live in. With that said, he urged entrepreneurs to prepare for changes to the trade balance in the coming years, in which it’s expected the U.S. will “decouple,” in Perot’s words, from China. With the Chinese supply chain no longer in play, Perot believes it will open up a number of unique opportunities for those poised to take advantage.

Tariffs aside, many of the recent economic barometers paint a dire picture for the short term. Inflation is up, consumer confidence is down and J.P. Morgan said earlier this year there was a 40% probability of a recession in the U.S. in 2025. Despite that, Perot was bullish on the U.S. economy and Texas’ place in it.

He said we’re fortunate in Dallas-Fort Worth that we have room to expand unlike, say, Los Angeles, which is restricted by natural boundaries — namely the Pacific Ocean — and, in Perot’s opinion, encumbered by burdensome regulations on businesses and real estate developers.

Additionally, Perot said Fort Worth is blessed with a robust, skilled labor force. He said he’s spoken to companies, like Amazon, that have a presence at AllianceTexas, the massive industrial center north of Fort Worth that’s owned by Perot’s company, Hillwood, and they’ve praised North Texas workers.

At the end of the day, Perot believes Texas has the resources to continue growing, and he looks toward a bright economic future.

“North America will dominate the world for the next 100 years,” Perot asserted. “If we get immigration reform, energy reform and all the energy in North America brought to bear, no one can touch us.”