Small businesses in Chinatown say tariffs on imports from China will devastate community
CHINATOWN (WABC) -- Business owners in Chinatown are already seeing the impacts of tariffs on Chinese goods.
There are around 1,300 small businesses in Chinatown and business leaders say that if the prohibitive tariffs are imposed, it will not only devastate the economic ecosystem of Chinatown but will have repercussions throughout the entire city.
The Lui family has worked long and hard building 'Grand Tea and Imports,' not taking a single day off in 25 years.
Their daughter Karen says President Trump's 145 percent tariffs on imports they get directly from China, like tea and herbs, would devastate their small business.
"We keep margins tight because we serve a working class neighborhood. Our parents' mission for the business was to source authentic goods that allow immigrants to continue to practice rituals and rights and celebrate big important milestones and festivals." Karen Liu said.
A gathering of local lawmakers and business leaders in Chinatown sounded the alarm on Monday.
"These tariffs are not just bad economics, they are bad for Asian-Americans," Assembly Member Grace Lee said.
She called the tariffs the latest insult to a community that has weathered COVID-19 and Asian hate.
"Trump keeps changing the rules, carving out exemptions for tech giants like Apple, while leaving everyday Americans and immigrant-run businesses to bear the brunt," Lee said.
"We've had small business owners tell us that they are going to have to shut down in a few weeks or months," Congressional Asian-American Caucus Chair Grace Meng said.
As chair of the Congressional Asian-Pacific Caucus, Representative Grace Meng has a national perspective.
"We're hearing from families who said, hey, some of us voted for Trump, and we wanted to see him lower the cost of living, this is doing the exact opposite, and we are scared," Meng said.
Congressman Dan Goldman blames house republicans for conceding Congress's role to oversee tariffs.
"They are affirmatively taking away Congress's power to be a check on the president and to play our role in the separation of powers. This is self-imposed devastation," U.S. Congressman Dan Goldman said.
Many wonder if they will ever afford to restock inventory.
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