SMEs could be crushed under President Trump’s increased tariffs, according to an open letter from the founders of 38 female consumer products.
Trump has suspended 90-day tariff increase in various countries, but has set it at 10% for now, but China has been raised to 145%, including the previous 20% tax.
In a letter released Thursday, these founders urged Trump and Congress to set back the increase in tariffs, at least until small businesses can find alternatives to affordable supply chains. Other than that, they want a waiver for small businesses.
The letter was written by Allison Luvera, founder of Juliet Wine, a startup that sells premium boxed wine directly to consumers. Luvera tells TechCrunch that it purchases major packaging components from overseas and faces an astonishing $200,000 invoice every year due to the lack of US alternatives.
The letter documents several other such issues, including home cleaning brands that require you to source refillable pouches from overseas because of the lack of immediate US options. The tariffs are threatening to increase the cost of packaging that bit by 80%.
A group of 38 say their companies generate $800 million a year, employ thousands, and employ supply supplies from both domestic and international manufacturers. They point out that tariffs will land deeper on small businesses.
“Unlike large companies, small businesses don’t have the leverage to renegotiate supply chain contracts, margins to absorb sudden increases in costs, or capital needed to quickly restructure the global supply chain,” writes Lubera.
The group hopes that other small business owners and others interested in economic impact will help council lobby. They are looking for small businesses to evaluate, so the government knows the impact. Ideally, they would want small businesses to be exempt from such increased tariffs. Failing that, they are lobbying for “grants, tax incentives, or technical assistance” to help us with the supply chain pain caused by Trump’s trade policies.
Among the signatories are designers Lebecka Minkoff and Allison Wyatt, a group of female founders. Others include Emily Doyle and May Kwok of Dune Suncare and Yangie Pike of Rael.