tiny business owners brace for Trump’s proposed tariffs

tiny 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% responsibility 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 tiny businesses may complete up paying more for goods and services. tiny business owners declare they’re waiting to view what final form the tariffs receive, but are bracing for higher costs that they may in turn require to pass on to consumers.

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

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

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 boost costs for everyone,” she said.

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

Across the border in Canada, Julie Bednarski-Malik runs another snack corporation, well 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 discover 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 ponder these tariffs are really not only going to be penalizing, you recognize, 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 view higher prices.

“Ultimately, the buyer is going to have to pay at the complete 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 markup left to keep the same worth and maintain that worth while incurring a 25% extra tariff on our product.”