Small business owners brace for Trump's proposed tariffs

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Small business owners brace for Trump's proposed tariffs

2024-12-04 04:58 Last Updated At：05:00

Small businesses are bracing for stiff tariffs that President-elect Donald Trump has proposed as one of his first actions when he takes office.

Trump has proposed importers pay a 25% tax on all products entering the country from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on goods from China, as one of his first executive orders. He previously floated a tariff of up to 20% on everything else the United States imports.

This means small businesses may end up paying more for goods and services. Small business owners say they're waiting to see what final form the tariffs take, but are bracing for higher costs that they may in turn need to pass on to consumers.

Laurel Orley, cofounder and CEO of Nashville-based sprouted nut snack company Daily Crunch, said at first she didn't think the tariffs would affect her business, because she doesn't import very much. But she realized the tariffs will have a ripple effect. For example, she had planned on sourcing bags from China to save 5 cents a bag. But with the tariffs, she might need to scuttle that plan.

“That was one of our big initiatives for 2025, moving all our bags to China for 15 cents a bag,” she said. “And now I don’t know if we can save any money on the bags when the tariffs go into effect.”

Warehouse prices are going up because of the expected tariffs, too, Orley said. Her warehouse provider said demand has been increasing since the tariffs were announced.

“As many other companies are buying bulk inventory overseas to get ahead of tariffs, warehouse availability is becoming limited, which will increase costs for everyone,” she said.

So, Orley is trying to lock in her warehouse contract for 2025 and find a third-party logistics provider for the year, “to get ahead of what’s to come and pre-planning as much as we can,” she said.

Across the border in Canada, Julie Bednarski-Malik runs another snack company, Healthy Crunch, based in Mississauga, Ontario, that specializes in foods that are free of the top 11 major food allergens like peanut, tree nut and dairy as well as low in sugar.

She sells her products in both Canadian and U.S. retail stores, and said tariffs will affect consumers on both sides.

“If you have a severe anaphylactic reaction to some type of dairy or soy and you can’t find a product in the U.S. because we’re the only ones that make it, it’s going to be a lot more expensive for U.S. consumers," Bednarski-Malik said. ”So I think these tariffs are really not only going to be penalizing, you know, other countries such as Canada, but also U.S. consumers."

She's holding off on making any major changes in her business until the tariffs are finalized, but expects to see higher prices.

“Ultimately, the consumer is going to have to pay at the end of the day because our margins are so tight beginning with our food prices, (which) have been increasing dramatically over the last few years,” she said. “So there’s not much margin left to keep the same price and maintain that price while incurring a 25% extra tariff on our product.”

Young goalkeeper’s streak ends as St. Pauli salvages a draw with Gladbach

2025-04-07 03:27 Last Updated At：03:31

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) — Goalkeeper Tiago Pereira Cardoso’s dream start to life in the Bundesliga hit a snag Sunday as he conceded his first goal in Borussia Moenchengladbach’s 1-1 draw with St. Pauli.

Injuries and other issues affecting regular goalkeepers Moritz Nicolas and Jonas Omlin have given the Luxembourg keeper a surprise starting spot for Champions League-chasing Gladbach over the last month.

One day before his 19th birthday, Cardoso was on course for his fourth game without conceding a goal Sunday – and his fourth win with Gladbach – until Dapo Afolayan hit a fierce shot from long range in the 85th minute.

Cardoso leaped at full stretch but couldn’t get a hand to it. Gladbach had been leading through a header from defender Ko Itakura.

The draw is a setback for Gladbach, which stayed sixth in the Bundesliga. It’s two points off Mainz in fourth, the last of the Champions League qualification spots. St. Pauli is 15th in the 18-team league.

Also Sunday, Benedict Hollerbach scored the only goal of the game as Union Berlin extended its unbeaten run to four matches with a 1-0 win at home to Wolfsburg.

Hollerbach reacted quickly to reach the ball first and score in the 62nd minute after Leopold Querfeld sent a looping header over the top of the defense.

Union stayed 13th and Wolfsburg 12th.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer