'Can This Be Right?': Reddit's Small Business Community Is Freaking Out Over Trump's Tariffs - Gizmodo

[justaprogressive]

Indeed, Trump’s tariff policies aren’t just terrifying Wall Street. They’re also freaking out small business owners, as can be seen by a sudden glut of comments on Reddit’s r/smallbusiness subreddit. There, small business owners can be seen fretting over everything from skyrocketing import duties to the increased costs that they will have to pass on to their customers.

One apparent business owner who recently ordered aluminum parts from China expressed amazement at the sudden escalation in import fees. User “eopcido” wrote:

We have a small business and ordered $3,380 worth of aluminum parts from China. Parts entered USA on 3/31/25. DHL requires $2,483.21 for “import duty” or they will send back the parts 5 days…Can this be right?

A commenter explained the newly added costs to the business owner: “You can expect to add 34% to all future orders, with the possibility of an additional 50% increase after this week. This brings the total potential increase to 156.5%.”

“In case everyone hasn’t figured it out yet, Trump and Co don’t want us buying anything from China anymore,” another commenter noted.

https://gizmodo.com/can-this-be-right-reddits-small-business-community-is-freaking-out-over-trumps-tariffs-2000586757

FAFO