|
|
Ranking Member Markey Calls on Trump Administration to Exempt U.S. Small Businesses from Tariffs
04/29/2025
[ Article originally appeared in www.sbc.senate.gov ]
Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today wrote to U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Kelly Loeffler, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, calling on them to exempt U.S. small businesses from the tariffs that Trump has recklessly imposed, and afford them the same relief that the Administration is giving billion-dollar tech giants such as Apple and Google. In the letter, Ranking Member Markey writes, “Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, but because they operate on razor-thin margins, they are uniquely vulnerable to rising costs caused by the Trump Tariffs. These businesses simply do not have the financial cushion to absorb price shocks or the resources to navigate sudden changes to an already complex supply chain. A survey by Small Business for America’s Future found that 71% of small businesses will need to increase their prices to offset the costs of these tariffs. But with consumer confidence at its lowest level since the pandemic, many small business owners know that their customers cannot afford higher prices. The Trump Tariffs have put small businesses in an untenable situation that threatens their survival.” Ranking Member Markey continues, “While the Trump administration prioritizes and takes care of multi-billion-dollar corporations, small businesses are crying out for relief. To avoid certain doom for millions of small enterprises across the nation, I call on you to exempt any small business, as defined in the Small Business Act, from the devastating Trump Tariffs. The nation’s 34 million small businesses need this relief to avoid being overwhelmed by rapid price increases and driven out of business by their larger, more well-financed corporate competitors.”
Ranking Member Markey concludes, “America’s small enterprises are too important to local communities to be allowed to fail because of this administration’s poorly conceived trade policies. If the Administration insists on moving forward with these tariffs, it must recognize the existential threat they pose to millions of small businesses. To spare these small businesses from catastrophe, the Administration should use its authority to protect them from the economic destruction that the Trump Tariffs have unleashed.” Back To News |
|
