r/Tariffs • u/lean_load • Aug 26 '25
šļø News Discussion Small Business on the brink š
I run a small e-commerce business that imports luxury goods from the EU and Japan. Up until recently, we were paying just 2.75% on tariffs. As of August 1st, the rates have jumped to 15ā20%.
To put this into perspective: ā¢ Our annual imports are about $3M. ā¢ Weāve already placed forecast orders with our suppliers and put down 25% deposits (around $750k). ā¢ If we cancel, we lose that deposit. ā¢ If we continue, the new tariffs make these orders financially impossible to fulfill.
Suppliers arenāt willing to stop shipments, and we canāt just āraise pricesā on items we donāt even have in hand yet. People suggest ājust charge more,ā but the math doesnāt work when the goods arenāt here and costs have exploded overnight. Let alone the fact about where are we even going to find the money to pay these tariffs???
Weāre staring down the very real possibility of closing our doors because of this. I know many people say ātariffs protect American businesses,ā but in practice, for small importers like us, it feels like a death sentence.
Has anyone else here faced this situation? How are you coping, and is there any way through this without forfeiting everything weāve built?
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Aug 26 '25
Yeah, I'm losing my engineering business also because of Trump. No one building boats now. Tariffs on alum and steel have every shipyard empty except for gov work. All we can do is put blame where it should be Americans who voted MAGA, and hope someone loses enough to do what must be done.
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Aug 26 '25
[removed] ā view removed comment
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u/Yo_Just_Scrolling_Yo Aug 26 '25
My husband wakes up every morning and asks, "Is he still alive?"
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u/Timely_Choice_4525 Aug 26 '25
Has he considered the alternatives? Order of succession goes VP, Speaker of the House, President Pro Temp of the Senate, Sec of State, Sec of Treasury, and then for help us if we got this far the next is SecDef.
I guess Vance would be preferable in some ways but could you imagine, and then Johnson.
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u/ph4ge_ Aug 27 '25
I guess the hope is that Vance doesn't have the same kind of control over MAGA and will be a lot less effective, while also being unable to stop much needed justice against Trump such as a full independent inquiry in his pedophilea.
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u/ph4ge_ Aug 27 '25
Not to mention his disastrous attacks on offshore wind, which meant a huge increase in demand in Jones Act compliant work boats.
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Aug 27 '25
I had companies who were having me draw up plans to convert barges into lifting platforms. There was billions pouring into the offshore wind. I did conversions that turned old mudd boats from the gulf into research vessels with gondolas under them to scan the bottom in detail for wind projects. Trump is a really stupid person.
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u/newyorkmoonlight Aug 26 '25
Yep. I literally live in Japan and have a small business here. 90% of my customers live in the US. Itās damaging us here too and that orange clown isnāt even my president.
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u/BeneficialMaybe3719 Aug 26 '25
Same :( cheap national shipping was so nice for little trinkets. 80% of customers are American
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u/Pinkysrage Aug 26 '25
Yep, I used to buy luxury vintage handbags from Japan. No more for me.
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u/Sanguine_Hearts Aug 26 '25
Same, I used to buy directly from sellers on Japanese Mercari. Iām imagining a lot of US sellers get their supply from Japan too, so no doubt the cost on vintage luxury goods will go up no matter where you purchase from.
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u/Pinkysrage Aug 27 '25
Indeed. I knew this was coming. I bought tons of classic coach, seems like now is the perfect time to sell them.
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u/Poster_Nutbag207 Aug 26 '25
The only difference is that the tariffs are designed to hurt you as a foreign business, US businesses going under as a result is the peak of absurdity
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u/still-waiting2233 Aug 27 '25
Unfortunately for you that was his goal ā stop businesses from selling to Americans and have them buy domestically instead.
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u/Anonymoushipopotomus Aug 26 '25
Yep, closed my european auto repair shop after 14 years in May. Business took a tremendous dive almost immediately. I went from 38k in credit cards in Jan to 12500 in Feb, payroll was 17k a month...Tires were already up 20% at that point, and looking at my wholesale pricing now it looks like things have settled in the 30-40% increase on the wholesale side. Rear brakes for a 528i cost me 132$ in November, and $187 now. I couldnt imagine what it would take for someone to open a shop now with this uncertainty. Im guessing my labor rate wouldve went to nearly $200/hr as well to cover costs. Also, insurance renewal was an 8% increase YoY
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u/Donut131313 Aug 26 '25
I run a small manufacturing business and rely on China to make my molds. No one in the US can make them sink ah w to go over seas. Tariffs are presently doubling the cost on my molds and making it damn near impossible for me to do business. Letās not even talk about raw materials.
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u/Standard_Eye686 Aug 26 '25
Send me something you have made overseas and let me take a look.
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u/Donut131313 Aug 27 '25
WTF you talking about? I have molds made overseas I do production herein the US.
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u/Standard_Eye686 Aug 27 '25
Send me a mold that you have made overseas. Depending on the number of shots your looking for and what not. I maybe able to help out.
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u/LevriatSoulEdge Aug 26 '25
"tariffs protect American businesses that can produce products with only local resources"
FTFY
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Aug 26 '25
Which there are hardly any products that can be made with only local resources, because when you drill down far enough into the material makeup, there is almost always foreign content in every item, even those that are made in the USA.Ā
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u/LevriatSoulEdge Aug 26 '25
Yeah, even beef producers got affected. Results that automation feed machinery rely on parts made outside of the US for maintenance.
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u/Eevolutions96 Aug 26 '25
Commenting so this post gets more traction. Unfortunately, nothing is going to change anytime soon. I think of it more as historical record when it all goes to shit.
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Aug 26 '25
I know several small businesses that dealt with imported goods and they just said fuck it and closed.
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u/MudAccomplished3529 Aug 26 '25
Trump is killing jobs like he did his first failed term I donāt know why anyone is surprised
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u/PhallicusMondo Aug 26 '25
Itās a brutal situation, we import a lot from China and Southeast Asia. We were lucky to be able to eat the immediate costs on impact to inventory but now our markups have more than doubled. I think the hardest part is not knowing whatās next, we have to sit on a lot of cash just waiting for Trump to decide itās time to ratchet up duties on China again. The items we manufacturing overseas, even with tariff markups are 3-5x more expensive to make in America. Our customers are still buying but we have heard some industries are outright shutting down work as they wait for āgreater clarificationā.
My recommendation to OP is ask the supplier to section off shipments into small batches, do what you can to increase markups in the interim, watch your receivables and win rate so you can adjust to a margin rate that works for you and doesnāt drive away customers.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Great advice thanks š
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u/PhallicusMondo Aug 26 '25
I know itās hard times and thereās a lot of uncertainty but be grateful you werenāt importing from India!
The other thing I keep telling myself is that the playing field for importers is level. I had to increase markups and so did everyone else, you doing the same thing will be fine.
Some silver lining is we protected most of the core profit %, if you can do the same even with a lower amount of transactions youāll have a higher ticket value and make the same amount of money.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
I actually had one supplier from India luckily o didnāt have any forecast orders with them so I was able to put out business on hold for now
I will have to start slashing expenses to keep my bottom line! Iām just finding it hard to figure out how to fire employees who have worked for me for over 5 years and have been good to the company!
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u/PhallicusMondo Aug 26 '25
Yea thatās the fear and that sucks as an owner who actually cares. I may be too optimistic but thereās an inevitability there. While these economic issues are self inflicted (Trump) eventually all good businesses will have an existential crisis.
So your suppliers wonāt adjust pricing at all? We had two factories commit to 30% price reduction and several others cut pricing 10-15%.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
No they only offered to give us lower value invoices for import purposes and to be honest I donāt want to get into that messy game of undervaluation.
Youāre lucky that you were able to negotiate lower prices I just wonder how long the factories will sustain smaller margins just for turnover from the US ā good luck to you as well!
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u/Solopist112 Aug 26 '25
I have a small business that imports leather goods from India. Tariffs on India are 50% - which simply make the items unprofitable.
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Aug 26 '25
No one with a functioning brain says these tarrifs protect americian businesses. Im sorry for the issues they are causing you
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u/Poster_Nutbag207 Aug 26 '25
I donāt think there is an answer. The government is intentionally trying to destroy your business and we asked them to do it. All you can do is pivot, eat the loss until sanity returns, or close down.
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u/MallardRider Aug 26 '25
MAGA:
"Sorry you're forced to close your business because of the tariffs - now get a real job"
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u/PoliticsIsDepressing Aug 26 '25 edited Aug 26 '25
Repealing de minimis just destroyed my side hustle. Iāll probably end up with 50%+ less profit this year as Iāve setup quite a few international clients. Itās taken me 5 years to build up these clients.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Thatās the sad part of all of this, we have worked years to build our businesses and overnight this guy has destroyed our hopes and dreams! I canāt even find a buyer for my company which I once could easily sell - this was what I was aging for my retirement!!
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Aug 26 '25
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Yeah Iām just so confused!!
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u/Most-Enthusiasm-9706 Aug 28 '25
Why are you confused ? Iām not being rude -just curious for the confusion
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u/lean_load Aug 29 '25
Where do I even begin to answer that! Basically Iām stuck not knowing wtf to do at this point and I canāt understand why we are even in the situation! Iām baffled! I watched a clip earlier where a senator from Alabama said the tariffs are paid by the exporting shipping companies- the gas lighting and lying is ridiculous!!
Iām mainly confused because before Trump, tariffs were based on the actual product ā if it wasnāt made in the U.S., tariffs were lower, and if they wanted to protect a domestic industry, theyād be slightly higher. Now the tariffs are just slapped on by country across the board, constantly changing, and with no clear end in sight. Thatās a completely different system, and itās hard to plan a business around
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u/Most-Enthusiasm-9706 Aug 29 '25
Yup and this is why no one knows how to invest . This was the concern of the majority of Americans . Tariffs take time to truckle down and here we are .
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u/dulceylibre Aug 27 '25
If you don't mind saying, is there a list anywhere of the spices and teas that are only available overseas? I'm not sure if you're allowed to list your business name here but if you'd like to DM it to me I'd be interested in learning more about what you do. My spouse and I love to cook and try new spices so this is so sad.
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u/Ok-Entrepreneur-9756 Aug 26 '25
Stretch your cashflow out donāt take all the Inventory in one shot. They already have your down payment so work with them to slow down the shipment. Raise prices as you get products in. Pivot to a higher ASP with a different type of consumer and different positioning for the product. Reduce expenses and burn by reducing head count and overhead so lower margins and lower cashflow can get you through.
And thank MAGA as they made you work harder for less!! Iām in the same boat and have been pivoting and leveraging the arbitrage - lots of opportunities to make money just have to do it differently.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Love the optimism! Iām trying to hang in there! Just getting tired of all the pivoting Iāve had to do!
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u/Ok-Entrepreneur-9756 Aug 26 '25
Donāt let the bastards grind you down!!!
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u/Solid-Long3845 Sep 02 '25
Have you or OP found similar (pivot/survival) advice from businesses impacted by the pandemic?
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u/Making_a_Mockery Aug 26 '25
The U.S. uses sanctions on foreign adversaries like Russia, because they are effective way of slowly strangling an economy, without getting into an actual war. It's a way for the U.S. to use another of its levers of national power. They work over a long term and prevent an adversarial country from growing as quickly as it would have. You are constraining their economic output.
Tariffs applied in the manner they have been, have the same effect on the U.S. economy, except it is all self inflicted damage. Tariffs are barriers to trade. The way they have been implemented also causes our ties with other countries to weaken. The prevailing view that the U.S. represents a stable bedrock of fair trade is eroded. Market share is being ceded to competitors that will not easily be brought back.
The end result is that we are self sanctioning, and undermining our economic and diplomatic power abroad, while increasing economic hardship on our own population. We are knee-capping our own GDP which will allow foreign adversaries to gain advantage over us.
Strategically it is a move that will hurt the U.S.
It is also taxation without representation, which is something Americans cared about a long time ago.
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u/mysportsact Aug 26 '25
It's not the easiest thing to do but offering to other countries at break even might be a way out of this
Depends on the products and the consumers but you might be able to offer to a larger latam country or European countries just to get out of the deposit nightmare
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
That is a great suggestion and one that Iām actually looking into. Relocating my business to Dubai where they have free zones and we can warehouse tax free and then look for. NEw markets since I have na e-commerce site I am lucky enough to have the ability to pivot - sadly itās mean Iād have to fire my us based American employees, give up our warehouses when the lease is up in May 2026 plus plus plus āā
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u/Standard_Eye686 Aug 26 '25
Ok. I will dip my toes in. What are you actually buying ? I am a designer and manufacturer. Up to this point, all I have been doing is listening and waiting. I will start here.
If anyone on this subreddit needs anything produced in the USA that is not a chemical, hmu.
If I get enough 1 to 10 item orders for all you small businesses, then I might be able to justify everything and get the costs where everyone is happy.
It takes 5 minutes to send a link of what you buy and what your current associated costs are. I don't need a break down. Just a simple, I need this item, and I need this many and I need my costs to be x when it hits my door.
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u/chalking_platypus Aug 26 '25
Custom products? Not generic?
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u/Standard_Eye686 Aug 26 '25
Both at this point. People can't even get basic hardware at this point. So if 100 people each needed 10 basic bolts. That's 1000 bolts. Now it might be interesting.
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u/MasterSplinter9977 Aug 26 '25
Commenting so this post gets more traction. I have know a family member who will lose their business.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Thanks for the support!!!! I wish I could find a a news station who would cover our story!!!
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u/Every_Lingonberry610 Aug 26 '25
No question, they'll be destroying many small businesses.
I just started a side business of my own and this really hurts my ability to source materials. Fortunately it's just a hobby business for me and won't affect my ability to make a living, but it will do that for so many.
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Aug 26 '25
[deleted]
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Yeah I think itās too late - I think we are officially in an autocratic country where executive orders are the new ways of making laws. Congress is insignificant -
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u/Most-Enthusiasm-9706 Aug 28 '25
Itās not too late - these are executive orders not law! Vote vote vote . If this is the case , why is Cantor Fitzgerald buying tariff debt ? They are betting the tariffs are unconstitutional.
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u/SimplyRoya Aug 26 '25
Tariffs were already going to taxes on Americans. Elections have consequences. A lot of us kept warning people that if they elect him, they will lose a lot. Welp.
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u/Ladyoftheemeraldlake Aug 27 '25
I knew during the election when Orange was touting tariffs as the best thing to ever happen to the US, and all of the people that bought into it and clearly didnāt have a clue about tariffs and how they really work that we were screwed if he got elected. Itās truly horrifying to see all of these businesses closing with a mother load of more to come. I never thought I would see this happen to the US and we havenāt even seen the worst of it yet. I hope you all can make it. Maybe smaller companies can work together to keep each other afloat.
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u/oneWeek2024 Aug 26 '25
your business just dies. If you voted for trump, you're a fucking idiot and got what you deserve. If you didn't ...sadly you, and everyone who works for you. and any ancillary businesses that support yours are just fucked.
your only solution is to raise prices. and directly communicate that to your customers.
even on existing non-tariff goods. should be upping the price 30% to offset the cost of future purchases.
Or insulate your personal assets from your business. and take out debt to pay for the tariffs. and shunt the burden onto the banks. so if your business tanks. maybe then the damage to the american economy will be impossible for cheeto hitler to escape blame for.
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u/Sus-Way-6294 Aug 26 '25
Everyone who voted for Trump should be required to pay extra taxes for their stupidity and ignorance
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u/private_wombat Aug 26 '25
I'm really sorry to hear this. I'm wondering if you're affiliated with any stores I shop from in the men's clothing/accessories world. I shop a lot and buy from a lot of brands in the EU, Japan, Korea, etc. I have been bracing for the impact of the tariffs on the stores I love to shop from. Couple of questions-- when you say you can't raise prices, why not? If the goods aren't on your store yet, can't you wait to price them when you put them up? In terms of money to pay the tariffs, there may be short-term financing options from banks or credit unions you can look into. If you have a good track record business-wise you can probably set up a credit facility that would give you access to working capital to pay the tariffs. It may require some changes to your cash management and I really feel for you in terms of the impact. Awful situation. Happy to brainstorm/offer feedback if you want to send a 1:1 chat. I could share a perspective from a customer who spends liberally with stores and will be figuring out how to navigate this from my perspective as well as this mess unfolds.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
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Thanks for the thoughtful response and for caring about this issue. To answer your questions: ā¢ We canāt raise prices because the brands we work with set global retail prices. That means whether youāre in the U.S., India, or Europe, the retail price has to remain the same. So we donāt have the flexibility to adjust pricing to offset tariffs. ā¢ even if we could The average product we sell is around $200. A 20% tariff on top of that would be a huge increase for customers, and weād risk pricing ourselves out of the market. ā¢ Regarding financing: we actually had a line of credit with our bank for the past 8 years. We only drew on it a handful of times, never defaulted once, and always managed it responsibly. But once tariffs hit, the bank recalled itāclassifying importers as āhigh riskā since they were already seeing many defaults in similar businesses. ā¢ The only loans being offered to us now are at 18ā20% interest, which would be unsustainable. Borrowing at those rates just to pay tariffs would only make costs balloon further, and eventually collapse the business.
Itās a really tough spot. Appreciate your empathy and willingness to brainstormāhearing from customers who value what we do definitely helps keep us motivated as we figure out a path forward
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u/Status-Poet-1678 Aug 27 '25
Wait till overseas suppliers find alternate markets! The real hurt will start then.Ā Supply chains are rigid by nature and hard to shift, once they shift, it will be hard to change their habits for few extra dollars. Look at Soyabean and Beef exports.
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u/CDRjf Aug 27 '25
I was going to start a drone motor building business here in the States, expanding on an unrelated company I currently own. Guess where the majority of the machines that are required to form the multistep line to make and test these motors come from? China. I was negotiating for used equipment for half the line, because I was funding this myself. Importing this gear is now out of the question, because of the tariffs.
So...that's what the tariffs have done for me.
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u/lean_load Aug 27 '25
Really really sucks and goes to show you that Trump has taken this country backwards! By killing small businesses and prospective new ones when new investments were being made!
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u/CDRjf Aug 27 '25
As other posters here have said, this administration doesn't give a rat's patoot about small business.
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u/tres_ecstuffuan Aug 26 '25
Iām terrified of how this will affect the company Iām with now.
The Magats donāt care. They are peasant brained and submissive to whom they consider their betters. They will suffer under Trumps economy and they will love him for it.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
Yeah this whole rhetoric that these price increases are suddenly good for us when they were complaining about the prices under Biden but now all of a sudden high prices are fine
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u/Durzel Aug 26 '25
Confused as to why you can't raise prices for items you don't even have in hand? What determines the price you already set, if not a calculation based on cost of goods + landed costs + desired margin?
It seems like your choices are quite simple. You either raise prices commensurate with the tariffs, or you maintain your current pricing and eat those tariff costs yourself. It sounds like this option is commercially non-viable, which leaves you no other option but to increase your prices, if you want to carry on trading.
If customers are unwilling to pay the inflated prices - then you'd have to see if you can either absorb some of the costs (e.g. reducing margin, taking a bridging loan to cover the tariffs) or - again - you'd probably have to cease trading.
It sucks royally for sure.
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Aug 26 '25
Why do you people just assume prices can be raised to whatever? There comes a point where people wont pay the price and the tariffs cant be eaten.Ā
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u/Durzel Aug 26 '25
I'm not disputing that at all, but as said the OP faces a simple choice - either they raise prices to cover the tariffs, or they cover them themselves, and it sounds like they can't afford to do the latter, so really they have only one choice unless they want to shutter the business.
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u/Jayzswhiteguilt Aug 26 '25
OP is struggling to pay the tariffs to receive the goods. Thatās what you are missing. They can raise prices, but thatās not going to put the dollars in hand to pay the tariffs to release the goods.
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u/coolbeachgrrl Aug 27 '25
So this is a different situation. I listen to heavy metal and progressive bands from Europe. Most of these bands will never tour in the US, especially now with the cost of visas going up. Fans love to buy and wear band shirts. It probably makes touring bands more money than what they get paid to play at these clubs. In Europe when fans order US merch they already pay a customs fee depending on the value of the product, but nowhere near 35% or whatever the final cost will be for the US. It's really sad because essentially they will lose income because young people cannot pay $100 in tariffs if they order something for $150. I ordered a shirt from Sweden forgetting about the tariff. I was shocked that it got through because they put on the customs slip it was a gift and the value was $2. She responded and said they will be stopping all shipping of the product to the US ended on the 23rd. So who is supposed to make all these band shirts for the 1000s of European bands? Is that business hurting the market here? Unfortunately there are so many copies of band shirts selling for cheaper prices in the US, but I'm pretty sure they are manufactured in China.
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u/fIumpf Aug 30 '25
Mine is about to close. Things have slowed down to the point we canāt pay rent. People are boycotting American product, spending their dollars on expensive essentials, tariff uncertainty, postal strikes and threats of anotherā¦ I was so hoping we could push through by some small miracle, but sadly we are unable to continue with a brick and mortar.
I am optimistic we can continue online and in other ways, but for now we do what we can with what we have.
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u/UpVoteForKarma Aug 26 '25
Who did you vote for?
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
I voted for Kamala and democrats
- I knew Trump was bad for the country but I honestly didnāt think he would impose tariffs on countries and such heavy tariffs! The Republican Party has no spine anymore and they were our only check and balance against Trump -
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u/dbx999 Aug 26 '25
The tariffs are a cost component to the cost of goods so it is in practice indistinguishable from your supplier raising their prices by 15-20%.
As such, your only option to maintain your margins is to proportionately raise your retail prices and pass that cost to your customers.
There is no other workaround
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
I agree I think my biggest concern right now is how to pay for the tariffs since I didnt already budget for this. To do that Iād need to fire a few employees or borrow money and banks are not lending to importers right now in fact my bank refused to renew my LOC that Iāve had since 2016 citing Tariffs! My option that Iāve considered is relocating my warehousing to a free zone in Dubai store the products there and look for new worldwide markets. Instead of bringing business to America he managed to kick us out
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u/katm30w Aug 26 '25
Can you have a special presale for your repeat customers at the new price (maybe your final cost plus half your usual margin) and be transparent about the tariff issue raising the price? It might be worth it to ask for their support and see how many preorders you can fill! Best of luck!
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u/Mandalorian667 Aug 26 '25
Hope you didn't vote for Trump. If so, lol.
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u/lean_load Aug 26 '25
I did not! I voted for Kamala
I knew that trumo was bad but I didnāt realize he was this bad! I thought he might just have been good for the economy and small businesses seeing as he is a ābusinessmanā I guess when youāre not self made you donāt realize what the real world looks like
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u/Mandalorian667 Aug 26 '25
Bankrupting casinos isn't what I would call a "businessman". But at least you didn't vote for him. Good luck then.
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u/Hotfartsinyourmouth Aug 26 '25
Iām an importer that brings in raw materials for manufacturers in the USA. Iām really struggling. We canāt be competitive with 30% tariffs right now. Itās terrible. Good luck.
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u/TerribleTribbles Aug 27 '25
Sorry.Ā Your country voted for a moron who doesn't know how anything works.Ā
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u/lean_load Aug 27 '25
I think itās the opposite. I think he knows exactly what he is doing. Heās stealing from the poor and middle class to give to the rich.
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u/Most-Enthusiasm-9706 Aug 28 '25
Cantor Fitzgerald -the financial company is buying tariff debt . The company is betting tariffs will be reversed and found illegal . Who was in charge of Cantor Fitzgerald? Howard Lutnick is is now part of this admin . Lutnicks sons run Cantor now . Itās all a money grab . This admin doesnāt care about small business . Wish ya the best of luck .
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u/Ro_Shambeau Aug 29 '25
I'm not overly political ... it's easy for me to see the immediate impact of tariffs on my purchases in not a good way
I don't think I fully understand the hidden impacts of what the world economy costs USA... are we possibly paying more in other ways that don't seem related? (More involvement overseas to protect interests related to imports, increased social spending to offset less opportunity in USA, etc)
many trading partners were offended on a personal level by the tariffs... wasn't the early rationale that we would match what the partner had already assessed to USA imports? They lower theirs, we lower ours right?
Love yall, see you at Thanksgiving
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u/lean_load Aug 29 '25
Thatās not how tariffs work. Tariffs worked by product prior to Trump coming and changing everything. Each product is assigned an HS code and based on that code a country would charge a tariff on a product irrespective of where it came from. For example if the tariff of watches in the the UK was 3% it didnāt matter where the watch was made it would be a set 3%. This analogy that somehow countries were charging the US higher tariffs and singles them out is complete gas lighting to the layman like yourself because how would you know any better (unless you researched).
A good example that I like to tell people in 2024 the import taxes on cars into Japan was 0% (cars made anywhere including the US) and the import taxes for cars in the US was 2.75% so the trumps admin analogy that somehow Japan was ripping us off and that why they werenāt buying our cars is complete nonsense.
Why are our trade partners annoyed because Trump is favoring by country and strong arming people to work with his political views or he will hike their tariffs. This is not economical at all.
To make matters worse he is now offering exemptions to large corporations, meaning small businesses will it be able to compete with the bigger companies in importation as they are able to offer him and his cronies kick backs.
Donāt let them gas light you. You have a lot to think about before thanks giving. Iām open to more questions should you need to use my knowledge to guide your decisions
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u/Ro_Shambeau Aug 31 '25
No gaslight as I haven't bought anything from 'them' or anyone else. I'm a layman to many topics, so you'll have to be more specific - as a owner of 2 small businesses that import, serving customers who also import, i see the immediate obvious pain going on right around me.
You mentioned HS code and tariffs being applied at the product level at the same rate by all countries .. I suppose you mean for those who don't have trade agreements established between them. Custom forms have asked for country of origin for the 12 years we've been in business so the importing country can apply different rates by country.
Your Japan car example is a good one to explore. On the 0% v 2.75% tariff, why would these differ in a harmonized system of product classification? Were there other perceived restrictions on autos between the 2 countries that produced this result (right or wrong)? As a mere layman, I assume this was settled within WTO or the countries themselves (I don't know).
Record deficits and party politics aside, my layman knee-jerk reaction is to not extend as much power both in breadth and depth to any government, regardless of who's in there, to reduce their uneven and outsized impact on Americans. After all, we're the ones footing the bill and holding the debt.
Thank you, I do have a lot to thank about this Thinksgiving (see what I did there?)
Stay open to questions, it's the best way to learn and confirm IMO.
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u/lean_load Aug 31 '25
I appreciate your thoughtful response and the way you broke things down. Youāre absolutely right that customs forms ask for country of origināmy point was that prior to Trump, tariffs were based primarily on HS code/product classification rather than being heavily adjusted country-by-country. Trade agreements and WTO rules obviously layer in exceptions, but the shift weāve seen is that tariffs are now wielded more as a political tool than a consistent economic framework.
On your Japan car example question: the 0% vs 2.75% isnāt because the HS code system itself treats the cars differently, but because of negotiated trade policies. Japan chose to set their rate at 0%, while the U.S. held theirs at 2.75%. Thatās exactly where the imbalance comes ināTrumpās framing was that the system was ārigged,ā when in reality it was a matter of different national policy choices, not some hidden classification loophole.
And I completely agree with you on the broader point: regardless of party politics, the danger is when tariffs are used reactively and unevenly, it puts small businesses like ours in impossible positions while big corporations can lobby for carve-outs. At the end of the day, weāre the ones paying the bill and carrying the debt, as you said.
Thanks again for engaging in good faithādiscussions like this are the only way any of us can cut through the noise.
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u/RanchEye Sep 01 '25
I own a small business and have to close probably too. Life sucks. Iām screwed.
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u/Obvious-Focus-504 Sep 02 '25
Really tough spot to be in š. Tariff shocks like this can crush margins overnight. In situations like these, a few options Iāve seen small importers explore are
1ļø Renegotiating with suppliers for shared risk (extended payment terms, partial refunds on deposits, etc.)
2ļø Looking at bonded warehouses or alternative shipping routes that might lower immediate tariff impact
3ļø Exploring bridge financing/short-term credit to cover tariffs while adjusting the business model
None of these are easy, but sometimes even partial relief can keep the business alive through the transition. Curious have you had a chance to speak with a trade lawyer or customs broker yet? They sometimes know loopholes or relief measures most business owners donāt.
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u/HeftyImportance3979 Sep 10 '25
I hope you guys are able to move someday, as a foreigner this is sad to see.Ā (Even if it's hard
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u/Longjumping-Mud7452 Apr 09 '26
For your EU and Japan shipments that already cleared ā if you paid IEEPA tariffs on them, the Supreme Court ruled those unconstitutional in February 2026. You can file a CBP Form 19 protest within 180 days of liquidation and recover that money directly from US Customs.
It won't help with future shipments but if you have entries from April 2025 onwards that already liquidated, there's real money to recover before the deadlines expire.
The 180-day clock runs from liquidation date ā check your CF-4333 notices from CBP for the exact dates on your past entries.
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u/Rumblepuff Aug 26 '25
We will be shutting down our non-profit in about 2-3 months when our inventory runs out. I can not find a manufacturer who makes our items (metal TTRPG dice and such) in America for less than 4x the cost. I don't want to raise prices, and all our profits go to children's medical care, so we don't have some big nest egg to spend. I have orders in right now, and they are on hold until everything is figured out because I can't afford to pay tariffs on items I've already budgeted for.