- President Donald Trump announced a 125% tariff increase on Chinese goods, following earlier tariffs of up to 104%. The move is impacting small U.S. business owners, especially those importing from China.
- Entrepreneurs are facing financial ruin, with some forced to abandon shipments and shut down parts of their businesses due to skyrocketing import costs.
- Some, like investor Kevin O’Leary, support the tariff increase, calling for even higher tariffs.
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As the Trump administration rolls out new tariffs, small business owners across the country are starting to come to terms with the impact the move has on their livelihood.
Those relying on goods from China are being hit especially hard.
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President Donald Trump announced Wednesday, April 9, to Truth Social that he’s increasing the tariff on China to 125% after he said the country showed a lack of respect.
This move comes after Trump had already imposed sweeping reciprocal tariffs with China, seeing a levy of at least 104% on all its goods.
China, choosing not to back down, also announced retaliatory tariffs of 84% on imports of U.S. goods.
What are business owners saying?
Many entrepreneurs who rely on China for importing materials and products shared their struggles on social media.
Casey Ames, who founded Harkla, which imports developmental and sensory toys from China for kids with special needs, said he’s now going to have to abandon his current shipment there and shut down the physical product side of his business.
The 104% tariff increase already made the shipment total $191,000 compared to what it would have been in 2024, which is $4,707.
“I’ve been building this business since 2015 … to have it decimated by increased U.S. import taxes overnight is now a reality,” Ames said in a post to X.
Another 50% tariff on this order would add $90k in tariffs on it, bringing the new total to $191,000 in tariffs
— Casey Ames (@caseyames) April 7, 2025
Which pretty much means it’d be worth abandoning this shipment and shutting down the physical product side of our business.
And for anyone who cares, we are the… https://t.co/gFGSy8NHWO
Beth Fynbo Benike, creator of Busy Baby, is also leaving her $160,000 shipment of products in China. In a post to Instagram, she said that she’s even thinking about setting up shop in China and finding a distributor to help sell her products there since she’s already paid for them.
Who supports the tariffs on China?
Meanwhile, “Shark Tank” star and investor Kevin O’Leary backed Trump’s move but said the tariffs on China should be even higher, accusing the Chinese government of systemic intellectual property violations.
“I’m advocating 400%. I do business in China. They don’t play by the rules,” O’Leary said in an interview on CNN Tuesday on April 8. “They’ve been in the WTO for decades. They’ve never abided by any of the rules they agreed to when they came in for decades. They cheat, they steal, they steal IP.”
Trump said tariffs will revive American manufacturing, incentivizing domestic and foreign companies to build factories in the U.S.
