Jonathan Ernst/Reuters
A TV-manufacturing company in South Carolina says it’s been forced to layoff 126 employees and close a plant because of President Trump’s tariffs. “The layoff and closure is a result of the new tariffs that were recently and unexpectedly imposed on many goods imported from China, including the key television components used in our assembly operations in Winnsboro,” Element Electronics wrote in a letter to the state’s Department of Employment and Workforce. South Carolina’s manufacturing industry has been particularly hard hit by the tariffs. Automaker Volvo said it may not be able to fulfill its promise to hire 4,000 employees for a South Carolina plant. Graver still, BMW told U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that the tariffs could put 45,000 South Carolina jobs at risk. Element Electronics said it hopes to reopen in three to six months, but is not certain it will be able to do so.