Small retailers ‘vacation from hell’ seek clarity on Trump tariffs

2025-06-11 20:11:00

A UPS season hand over the Cyber Monday in New York on November 27, 2023.

Stephanie Keith Bloomberg Gety pictures

When Matt Cobansik, the owner of a small company in Louisville, Kentucky, threw the poll Donald Trump In November, he was hoping to provide the return of the Republican candidate to the White House spark to the economy and lead to low gas and groceries.

Instead, the first half of Trump’s second state at the White House was more like a “leave of hell”. Guardian Baseball, the commodity company for the baseball that he participated in in 2018, mostly depends on manufacturers in China, which were secured in a full trade war with the United States

It didn’t take long until Kubancik regrets his vote. After 20 years, as a Republican, Cobansic changed his registration to Democrat last month.

“I was a lifelong Republican. I have supported independent candidates and Democratic candidates in Kentucky before, but this made her enough to switch parties,” Cobansic said in an interview. “I don’t feel that the country is heading down the right path.”

While the stock market wore a brutal start for this year, this is largely due to the Trump administration, which stopped defining the most extreme that was announced in April, and the young retailers who rely on imports to stay on his feet. The definitions of China are still 30 % high, as it decreased at least 145 % of Trump’s previous announcement after the two countries reached a 90 -day truce on May 12.

Great anxiety is what happens when the agreement ends for a period of three months in August. Both countries have already accused each other of violating the initial trade agreement.

Guardian Baseball sells its products Amazon And in brick and mortar stores like Wal Mart. Even at a rate of 30 % for goods from China, its costs are much higher than it was before Trump took office. Some small companies have stopped requesting more stock or temporarily depending on developing new products while they were waiting to find out how the situation develops. Others were forced to raise prices because they could no longer digest higher import costs.

The struggles faced by companies such as Guardian Baseball do not necessarily appear in the data.

Matt Cobansik, who founded the trustee baseball game in 2018, said he voted for Trump but not his party belonging to Democrat after passing a “leave from hell.”

According to the survey of 270 business leaders Absolute On Monday of the CEO, less than 30 % of CEO expects either light or severe stagnation over the next six months. This fell from 46 % who said the same in May and 62 % in April.

And a final report Published “The uncertainty is still high among small business owners,” NFIB chief economists said in the release.

American and Chinese officials It ended on Tuesday Two days of commercial conversations in London. Under the initial agreement, the United States will implement 55 % of the customs tariff for Chinese goods, as Trump said in a position on the social truth. The full details of the agreement have not been issued. Trump said the deal is subject to the approval of his administration and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I will work, President Xi and the president closely to open China to American trade,” Trump wrote in a position. “This will be a great victory for both countries !!!”

Trade Secretary Howard Lootnick CNBC’s said “Money Money” On Wednesday that the United States Definitions On Chinese imports will not change from their current levels, even k commerce The handling of Washington and Beijing has not yet been completed.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment.

“Everything is suspended”

Like Kubancik, Alfred May says his work was often in waiting and seeing during the commercial conflict, despite the temporary suspension for 90 days in May.

May, co -founder of the ASM card, said that we are increasingly concerned last month because he thought about the “huge” stock that he needs in time for the decisive period of shopping for holidays. He told its manufacturing partners to speed up production shipments and the speed of the United States as quickly as possible.

“I have no idea what the situation will look after a 90 -day stop, so I prefer to take the bowel punch now instead of eliminating the future by increasing a huge tariff,” May said in an email.

It is scheduled that the short -term agreement between the United States and China ends. But if the prices increased before it made its shipment in the United States, May said it may not be able to bear the tax needed to take over the ownership of its “vital store”.

Prices rise regardless. With a 30 % tariff for China, Mai said it is likely to raise prices by 10 % to 20 % and hope that consumers will be ready to pay.

At the bottom of the bed, which is located south of Toronto in Canada, Tony Sajar says, “Everything is suspended.”

Sagar Sources are some of the goats below from China and are considering stopping some of the low margin elements because it can no longer compete with cheaper competitors.

“We have mainly stopped any kind of import or planning,” Sajar said in an interview.

Alfred and Sarah May founded the ASM card games company.

Alfred May

Last month, Sagar said that he had to recover a customer who bought a quilt of $ 150, but he refused to pay $ 277 of additional customs tariff fees. He faced the same case last week after the shopper requested a quail of $ 595, which came with a tariff bill of about $ 1,200. Sajar said he is now calling “every American agent” after submitting an application to make sure they are ready to pay additional duties.

In addition to the China tax, the Trump administration has developed 25 % tariff On the goods from Canada.

“Anytime I hear this century Shopify“You must worry about where the request comes from,” said Sagar.

Greg Shugar, who runs many clothes, said the problem of trying to plan for the future is that politics is “everything about the ego.”

“If we understand the real motivation behind the administration, we will teach where we go or what we do,” said Shoghar, the co -owner of the women’s clothing company, Carrie Amber and the manner of the attachment for men.

Shoghar said Trump’s variable position on customs duties left him paralyzed on whether or not production would be transferred outside China.

Greg Shugar, Malik Pao Links Fairmont.

Greg Shugar

Last month, he joined a group of other small business owners in an event organized by the National Union for sale, with a plan to provide their concerns to the White House. The group met with a representative of the Trump administration for about 30 minutes.

Shaghar said he had a more pessimistic feeling about placing a customs tariff more than he was going in the door.

“We will not eat a 30 % tariff, nor is it the consumer,” Shaghar said. “So there are no winners in reality, there are only the losers who have these definitions.”

After Wall Mart warned last month that he would have to raise prices, Trump Tell the retail giant To “eat definitions”.

Kubancik of Guardian BaseBall said his company “got a big break” last year when a deal with Walmart signed to put its products in 3000 stores.

It now delays inventory orders from China and take a more conservative approach to reaching new products, because the company cannot afford additional risks.

“We felt that we had finally made it as a brand,” said Cobansic. “And now it looks like a Noseediving plane.”

He watches: Trump now realizes that China has more influence than expected