Franklin County amends truck purchase order after manufacturer tariff raises costs

Franklin County commissioners approved an amendment to a purchase order for two highway trucks after the manufacturer added a tariff tied to foreign parts, Highway Administrator Jim Gretch said at the meeting.

"We ordered them six weeks ago and we don't expect to receive them until after manufacture sometime in September, October of this year," Gretch said, explaining that the manufacturer identified foreign materials used in parts that triggered the tariff. He told commissioners the trucks have not been manufactured yet.

Gretch said the trucks were listed on the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) purchasing site, Sourcewell, and that MoDOT faces the same issue for vehicles on its bid lists. He said the manufacturer offered the county an opportunity to cancel the order without fees, but county staff opted to proceed because the trucks are hard to come by.

A commissioner asked whether other manufacturers without the tariff could have been selected; Gretch replied that the tariff situation arose after the ordering process and that vendors must pass international cost changes through to buyers when those costs are beyond the vendors' control.

Gretch also said county staff have made an "unofficial inquiry" to the White House seeking clarification and possible reimbursement, because he was unsure whether the tariff's intent was to impose additional costs on counties, cities and states.

After discussion, a commissioner moved to approve the amendment; the motion received a second and passed by voice vote.

The amendment was described in the meeting as necessary to cover the tariff charges added to the two-truck order. The commission record does not include a detailed dollar amount of the tariff or the revised total price.