Local small businesses say they are beginning to feel the pinch of tariffs

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) – Some local small businesses are beginning to feel the pinch of President Donald Trump’s tariff agenda. Including one local small business run by a disabled retiree.

She said a recent trip to Michaels cost her 33% more for items she needed.

Small businesses nationwide are bracing for increased costs due to the tariffs. It’s something some small businesses say will be a challenge.

Anita Boyer is a crafter, known as the “Craft Queen.” Boyer is a one-woman store where she hand crafts quilts, creates t-shirts and more.

“Shadow boxes were the one thing that people like more than anything; they sell the best,” Boyer said.

For example, like many other small businesses, she’s being confronted with rising prices, which include her top item, the frame for her shadow boxes.

“They have been all along just $30, $29.99, until last Sunday,” Boyer said.

That’s when Boyer said she went to Michaels as she usually does and discovered the shadow box frames had gone up.

“They were $40 now, $39.99, and I about had a heart attack,” she said.

That’s something she says she’s not comfortable with.

“I don’t want to charge my customers that price and I have them coming back because my prices are good, so I don’t want to lose them,” Boyer added.

As a person with a disability, she says the crafting keeps her busy and is a small supplement to her passions.

But for her, tariffs are making her job more difficult.

“It is to bring some income into the house, some extra, so yeah, it’s going to be that much harder,” she said.

It’s not just business owners like Boyer who are concerned about the economy, a CNN poll finds 59% of people say the President’s polices have worsened economic conditions.

Though the President argues that tariffs will lower taxes for Americans.

Craft Queen sells items through Facebook marketplace.

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