ATLANTA — Just hours after the Supreme Court struck down tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, he added a 10% global tariff.
Business owners in metro Atlanta told Channel 2 Consumer Investigator Justin Gray that these tariffs have made for their hardest year yet.
Patrice Hull, the owner of Stuff We Wanna Say in Atlanta’s Little 5 Points neighborhood, said patches on hats she sells are made in Pakistan, and with the tariffs, it adds an extra $3.50.
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She says that makes it hard to make money selling them.
“I have to pay more for it, but I don’t know if I can pass it on to you. So if I can’t, either I’m stuck with it, or I just lose money,” Hull said.
She says nearly every item in her store is faced with similar math.
“This year has been the most challenging year I’ve ever had. I’m going into my 14th year,” she said.
Jennifer Barbosa, owner of International Supply Partners, sells safety products and PPE. She said she had to raise prices this year.
“The hard thing is having to transfer those costs over to customers,” Barbosa said.
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But with the Supreme Court ruling, she says she’s looking to buy product.
“We need to move quick and swiftly,” she said.
Emory Goizueta School of Business professor Tucker Balch says this will impact everything from stuff you buy on Amazon to the grocery store.
“It was very directly a tax on U.S. consumers, and that’s why our cost of living was going up,” Balch said.
Hull says she’s just trying to keep product on her shelves.
“I hope that now I can go back to manufacturing my bags, I can have what the customers know me to have, the quality, the quantity,” she said.
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