DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — This past weekend, the Trump Administration announced a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs for China.
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“It was a bit of a relief. Good news,” Jennifer Barbosa, owner of International Supply Partners, said.
Barbosa’s company provides safety vests, PPE, and other products to an assortment of corporations and local governments. She says the tariffs provide an opportunity.
“That means that we can take advantage of this window to get back on track. We’re gonna have to do some catching up and then also see if we can get ahead,” Barbosa said.
She says they will put in orders and likely stockpile products, knowing the time these tariffs are paused may be limited.
“I have 90 days to prepare, 90 days stockpile, 90 days forecast, and 90 days to figure out what to do next,” Barbosa said.
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However, other small business owners are torn about the tariffs only being “paused.”
“My first reaction is it doesn’t help small businesses,” Patrice Hull, owner of Stuff We Wanna Say, said.
Hull sells bags, t-shirts, and more from her store at Little Five Points.
However, a big part of her business is selling to corporations, customizing different swag.
She says that during the tariff period, she had to remove her pre-order option from her website and change her supply.
“Extremely difficult because I don’t know what to buy, when to buy,” Hull said.
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She says the 90-day pause provides an advantage for bigger corporations that can stockpile. Something businesses like hers cannot always afford to do.
“Stockpiling means a few things. One, you need capital to get it. Two, you need a place to put it,” Hull said.
The pause will give time for the world’s two most important economies to work out a longer-term deal, according to Georgia State Professor Sina Golora.
“They started with a pause, perhaps because this is going to be one of the most complex deals. There are so many angles here,” Golora said. “This is gonna take time, but the pause shows an understanding by both parties that this cannot continue, and they are not willing to damage their economies more.”
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