Trump’s tariffs: Bay Area small businesses, shoppers brace for price hikes

SAN FRANCISCO – President Donald Trump announced sweeping new tariffs Wednesday aimed at boosting U.S. manufacturing, calling it “Liberation Day.” These tariffs are essentially taxes that Americans will pay on imported goods.

Businesses are expected to pass the added taxes onto consumers, meaning people will likely face higher prices on a wide range of products, from cars and clothing to food and housing. Experts warn the tariffs could slow the economy, lead to higher inflation, and potentially trigger trade wars.

“Jobs in factories will come roaring back into our country – you’re already seeing it happen,” Trump said.

The president argued that the tariffs will bring billions in new revenue to the U.S. government, but the new taxes could increase prices for many goods, putting significant strain on small businesses.

Small businesses feel the pressure

Crazy Block Cheesecakes, an Oakland-based business, often sources ingredients from international markets to offer 160 unique flavors from around the world. Owner Benjamin Block said his supplies, merchandise, and packaging all come from China.

“We get these by the thousands y’all, we go through a lot of these,” Block said of the cheesecake containers. “Everybody gets it from China, it just hurts small businesses more, ’cause we’re on tighter profit margins, we don’t have gigantic budgets to spend on advertising and to absorb costs from tariffs.”

Block said small businesses are already feeling the pressure.

“I try to hang in there just like any other business owner as much as we can, but there’s always a point where you have to raise the prices,” said Block.

President Trump’s tariffs target imports from dozens of countries, along with a 10% across-the-board tax. 

“There’s already an extremely high cost of living in the Bay Area, and I feed a family of four and so seeing those increases is definitely going to hit home, and as a business owner, I definitely have to think about how those are going to affect my bottom lines. And what I may and may not have to pass on to the customer,” Iliana Berkowitz said.

Berkowitz owns As Kneaded Bakery, which sells at the San Leandro Farmers’ Market. She relies on imported maple syrup from Canada and produce from Mexico. Like many other small business owners, she is still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Just starting to bounce back from COVID as a business owner, so this is poor timing,” said Berkowitz.

The La Rocque family is worried about how the tariffs will affect their future spending.

“We’re concerned about food, we’re a single-car family, but we’ve been thinking about getting a second car in the future and we know that the tariffs impacting the auto industry could have an impact,” said Matthew La Rocque of San Leandro.

Block said small businesses are already feeling the pressure.

The 10% base tariff rate will go into effect on Saturday, with higher reciprocal tariffs scheduled to begin a week later.