ATLANTA — Atlanta chocolatiers say ongoing tariffs are leaving their sweet business with a bitter aftertaste.
Elaine Read and Matt Weyandt, owners of Xocolatl Small Batch Chocolate, got a visit from U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock on Tuesday, as the senator continues to discuss tariff impacts with small businesses.
“I think people believe this is a tariff on China and Brazil… this is a tax on small businesses,” Weyandt said.
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Warnock toured the facility, taking part in grinding, mixing, and pouring chocolate bars.
“These tariffs are not helping...they’re hurting small businesses,” said the senator said.
Tuesday’s stop is just the latest in Warnock’s efforts to discuss the challenges President Donald Trump’s tariffs are creating for small businesses.
Some local businesses, like custom metal hardware company Highland Forge, say they’ve seen a 40% increase in sales, with most of their products sourced within the U.S. co-owner Mark Woodward believes their success is in large part due to stable prices.
“I think most of it has to do with the tariffs and the fact that we didn’t have to raise prices,” said Woodward.
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State Sen. Josh McKoon says that while the impacts might be uncomfortable right now, the benefits should be greater in the long run.
“Tariffs are part of a broader series of policies to bring these industries back to the country, to bring good-paying jobs for middle-class and working Americans back,” said McKoon.
The latest round of tariffs came earlier this month, when Trump implemented new rates for dozens of countries, including a 10% baseline tariff on most imports. The Trump administration has argued that its tariffs will promote domestic manufacturing, protect national security, and substitute for income taxes.
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