MARTINSVILLE, Va. – One of President Trump’s motivations behind his tariff plan is to encourage companies to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States.
Henry County and Martinsville are just two areas in the region that were hit hard as jobs moved overseas.
Residents there have mixed feelings about whether the plan will be effective.
10 News reported from Henry County 15 years ago this spring when hundreds of workers at Stanley Furniture learned they were out of work. They were among the thousands of jobs lost as lower trade barriers made it cheaper for companies to produce furniture and textiles overseas.
Julia Harrell, a Martinsville native, reflected on the impact of these changes.
“This area got hit really bad with furniture and a lot of the cheaper lumber coming in from China and so forth. It just kind of wiped us out,” she said.
Harrell’s father was in the furniture business. Her family witnessed firsthand the region’s decline, which saw unemployment reach 20 percent at one point—a decline from which the region has taken years to rebound.
As of Jan. 2025, Henry County’s unemployment rate was 4.4. Martinsville had a 4.9 percent rate.
“There’s some excitement, and there are more little shops opening up again. It was hard to see it breaking down over the years ... but now it feels like it’s coming back,” Harrell added.
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One shop is Unique Styles and Designs Floral Boutique, which opened during the COVID-19 pandemic and is now blossoming.
“I feel like we are just making the best of it, and we have people coming back here with great ideas,” said Shatera Robinson, the boutique’s owner.
She worried Trump’s plans wouldn’t bring back jobs and would instead hurt business.
“We have roses that come in from Ecuador and Colombia. We have different flowers to come from all over the world,” she said. “Where you used to pay $65 to $75 for a dozen roses, it can go up to $85, $95, or even $100 a dozen. Of course, as a flower shop and a small business owner, we would not want to raise our prices to that extent,” Robinson said.
Robinson said it can be difficult to source certain species of flowers domestically, so any changes would mean they couldn’t meet customers’ demand for variety.
Another business owner told 10 News she’s prepared to deal with increased costs in the short term if it means leveling the playing field with other countries in the long term.
Robinson and Harrell remain more skeptical.
“I think there are a lot of things going on in government that have needed attention for a long time. But it would be good to be strategic,” Harrell noted.
Robinson said so far wholesalers haven’t sent word of increased costs, but she’s adjusted her business plans just in case.
