What Happens in Washington, Doesn't Stay in Washington
Nevadans are on the front lines of Trump's trade war
In 2024, Las Vegas hit the jackpot: a record 44 million visitors. Every cab was full. Every buffet had a line. Every server, dealer, bartender, and housekeeper had a reason to hope.
Now? The tables have turned.
Early 2025 visitor numbers are dropping. Airlines are canceling flights. Casino foot traffic is soft. Convention bookings are off. Even weekend visitors are hesitating. And Nevadans know what’s tightening the screws.
The Trump trade war.
Kristen Corral founded the Tacotarian Mexican eatery in Las Vegas in 2018. She serves authentic, plant-based Mexican food with her husband at 5 locations, including a store in the Miracle Mile shops on the Las Vegas Strip.
“Tariffs create uncertainty. For big businesses, it might be a line on a spreadsheet, but to us it’s the difference between breaking even and shutting our doors,” Corral said.
A few miles down the road, Juanny Romero runs Mothership Coffee near downtown. Her wholesale coffee prices have jumped by more than 50% - a cost she is currently absorbing to keep her customers.
“It’s almost a game of ‘who’s going to increase their price first?’” Romero told the Las Vegas Review Journal. “No one wants to increase their price first because they’re afraid that they’re gonna get penalized by the public.”
When visitors are priced out of a Las Vegas vacation, the cost trickle down to the workforce that runs the city’s hotels and hospitality industry.
Housekeepers, Bartenders, servers, and hosts could see their hours reduced.
Disposable income in Las Vegas will shrink, affecting a range of businesses like Esther’s Kitchen. Chef James Trees owns Esther’s as well as two other restaurants in the Las Vegas Valley.
James’s restaurants rely on paper goods - napkins and table cloths; paper to-go-boxes for leftovers; and paper towels and other sanitary products.
Each week, he places an order for paper products at his restaurants. It’s gone up $700 a week with the Trump Tariffs because most manufactured paper products come from Mexico, Canada and China.
“It’s so odd to have something that is such a static price double, and then double again within two weeks. That’s $50,000 a year. That’s a cook. That’s a server. That’s a dishwasher, and it’s just like that, money just evaporated overnight,” James told Fox 5.
James said a Nevada pizza parlor down the street ordered $10,000 of pizza boxes from a foreign supplier. “Because of the tariff, that order became $30,000.”
Restaurants across Southern Nevada are struggling with costs and prices for prepared food could increase by 30% with the tariffs.
“Restaurants aren’t going to be as full as it was before these tariffs and you might see some people have to close their doors,” said the Nevada Restaurant Association.
Everyone in Nevada suffers during a downturn, but Las Vegas isn’t like other cities. They fall first. And recover last.
When tourism slows, hours get cut. Tips disappear and locals stop spending. Everyone suffers.
Already there are warning signs. Traffic at Reid Airport is down 3.9% and overall visitors to Las Vegas is down 8% year-over-year in March.
This is what a trade war looks like for Nevadans on the front lines.
It’s your server working half a shift. It’s your favorite taco shop fighting to stay open. It’s a $700-a-week paper product hike turning into a pink slip.
When Trump plays economic roulette, Nevadans are among the first to lose.