Editorial Note: Opinions and thoughts are the author’s own and not those of AFROTECH™.
Trump’s tariffs have upended multiple industries. For bigger companies like Apple and Microsoft, or fast fashion behemoths like Zara, tariffs can be easily avoided by moving their distribution elsewhere. But for smaller businesses that don’t possess the same infrastructure, they don’t have that ability.
Most Americans would agree that manufacturing should come back to the United States. Over the past decades, companies have moved their work abroad to take advantage of lower wages and the lack of unions that protect workers from abuses. In short, it’s easier to take advantage of the cheap labor offered in other countries like China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The whole system is inherently problematic, especially when we look at how workers in the United States are constantly berated and not treated properly.
Moving manufacturing back to the states will also mean, unfortunately, that prices for goods will go up for consumers. The average cost of an iPhone has gone up to almost $1,000. But if a few people abstain from purchasing an iPhone, it won’t hurt the bottom line of Apple’s billions. Small business owners don’t have that luxury. They have to purchase the materials, and prices will eventually go up as a result of tariffs. As prices for materials increase, the prices of products will too, and some customers may step back from purchasing altogether. Small business owners rely on their group of customers to make a profit and need enough to purchase the materials to create the products they’re selling. They can’t afford to mass produce products on the same scale as Shein or Amazon. They don’t have the luxury of being able to pick up their business and move it to a country where they won’t face the wrath of tariffs. All they have are their customers.
Recently, Nvidia, a company that creates chips for AI data centers, agreed to manufacture AI supercomputers in the United States. Originally, much of its products were created in Taiwan. For people who are heavily invested in AI and worry about how tariffs will affect the AI boom, this could seem like a win. However, manufacturing in America isn’t cheap, which is why companies moved abroad in the first place. This could make the price of data centers skyrocket and, in turn, raise the price of AI. Some argue that as the technology advances, the cost of using AI will decrease, but there’s no guarantee of that.
The chaos surrounding tariffs, such as who is exempt and who isn’t, has left everyone from corporate leaders to everyday consumers in limbo. No one knows how this will affect the economy six months to a year from now, but everyone is in agreement that tariffs are a terrible idea.
It might be too much to encourage consumers to continue supporting small businesses. But corporate entities don’t have our best interest in mind. Why continue to put money in businesses like Amazon or Walmart when their endorsement of the president put us in this mess? If these tariffs go through after the 90-day pause, most small businesses will struggle to survive, but businesses like Amazon and Walmart will not. Don’t put your money in their hands, support your local business instead — they’re going to need it.
