Business owners are some of the worst affected by Trump’s hiked tariffs
Donald Trump’s new round of tariffs is already creating serious problems for U.S. businesses.
Earlier this year, Trump revealed a fresh set of tariffs on a range of international imports. Oddly enough, the list even includes countries like the Heard Island and McDonald Islands remote places that are home to nothing but penguins and seals.
Because of these sweeping tariff increases, both experts and companies are warning that Americans could soon be paying noticeably more for everyday goods and tech items.
Just in the past few days, Walmart has issued a heads-up to its shoppers that higher prices may be on the way.
Walmart CEO Douglas McMillon explained: “We will do our best to keep our prices as low as possible. But given the magnitude of the tariffs, even at the reduced levels announced this week, we aren’t able to absorb all the pressure given the reality of narrow retail margins.”
Another company raising concerns about the steep levies is Wyze Cam. The tech firm, based in Washington state, shared that they were hit with ‘$255,000 in tariffs and $579.23 in “other fees”‘ just to bring in $167,000 worth of their own Wyze Cams.
Donald Trump announced a series of tariffs in April
Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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The company posted the breakdown on May 1, sharing a receipt as proof of the massive cost.
Meanwhile, GlytchTech also joined the conversation. They shared a DHL invoice showing they were hit with over $2,800 in tariffs even though the shipmentβs value was less than $2,000 worth of gear.
Adafruit Industries also added their voice to the growing number of complaints. They posted their own DHL receipt and issued a warning that, much like Walmart, they might have to increase retail prices to cope with the cost.
Walmart has warned that it may have to increase its prices because of the tariffs
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
“We’re no stranger to tariff bills, although they have definitely ramped up over the last two months. However, this is our first ‘big bill’, where a large portion was subjected to a 125%+20%+25% import markup.” Adafruit wrote in a blog post.
“Unlike other taxes like sales tax where we collect on behalf of the state and then submit it back at the end of the month, or income taxes, where we only pay if we are profitable, tariff taxes are paid before we sell any of the products and are due within a week of receipt which has a big impact on cash flow.”
The company continued: “In this particular case, we’re buying from a vendor, not a factory, so we can’t second-source the items and these particular products we couldn’t manufacture ourselves even if we wanted to, since the vendor has well-deserved IP protections. And the products were booked & manufactured many months ago, before the tariffs were in place.”
“Since they are electronics products/components, there’s a chance we may be able to request reclassification on some items to avoid the 125% ‘reciprocal’ tariff, but there’s no assurance that it will succeed, and even if it does, it is many, many months until we could see a refund.”
Regular customers are feeling the pinch too. One person shared a screenshot of an order for a Radxa Orion O6. He said that back in December, it was priced around $300. Now, that same device has reportedly jumped to five times that amount.