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Trump has said he’ll institute tariffs on imports from China, Canada, and Mexico by February 1.
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Small businesses are bracing for potential price hikes and supply chain disruptions.
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Some stocked up ahead of time in hopes of keeping prices steady, others are in wait-and-see mode.
Customers at Mellow Monkey, a home decor and gift store in Connecticut, sometimes ask owner Howard Aspinwall why so many of his products are made in China. In response, he shows them the products he sources from the US — and their higher price points. He said they usually balk.
“Their wallet can only support buying from China,” he said, adding, “The problem I see at the retail level is customers don’t want to pay higher prices for the products that they’re buying now.”
But it looks like buying some imported goods is about to get more expensive. Trump has said he would enact a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico by February 1 with a potential 10% tariff on Chinese goods also on the table.
More than half a dozen small business owners BI spoke to are waiting to see how their goods might be impacted. Some placed advanced orders; others are negotiating new deals and finding new suppliers. One, who specializes in holiday goods, is sitting back, waiting, and hoping they don’t have to go out of business.
Angie Chua is the owner of the stationery line Bobo Design Studio, which has a retail location in Palm Springs, California, and imports goods from China. She started worrying about tariffs around the time of the election but wasn’t sure if Trump’s plans would ever come to fruition. As his self-imposed February 1 deadline nears, she’s getting more concerned.
Unlike some artist friends she spoke to who put in orders early in case of price increases, Chua didn’t want to expend too much upfront cash. For now, her orders from China are set to come in before February 1. If prices do rise, Chua said the business will remain transparent about growing costs.
“We might add an extra service fee,” she said, adding that she may message to her customers that “this is a Trump tariff fee. This is not anything that we can control.”
Upon taking office, Trump laid out his plans to use tariffs to enrich the US economy. So far, he’s used them as a bargaining chip with Colombia. He told reporters in the Oval Office on Thursday that he would enact tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico to incentivize the two countries to help mitigate America’s fentanyl crisis. He also previously said he would consider a 10% tariff on China for the same purpose.
