Small business owners are concerned as new tariffs could impact sales while increasing customer prices.
After Trump announced mutual tariffs on Wednesday, the pair of Orange County Small Business Owners say they are supporting themselves for fallout from the trade war.
Delilah Snell, owner of Alta Baja, says plans for expansion had to be put on hold due to uncertainty in prices and trade.
“I’m a one-woman show. Why sit there and spend your savings when you don’t know how this looks?” Snell said.
Baja Alta is a cafe and retail space focused on California, the Southwest of the United States and Mexico. A third of all Snell sells are Mexican products and faces 25% tariffs on certain products. Mexico is now exempt from further tariffs as it is subject to a free trade agreement from Trump’s first term, but Snell and her suppliers still have the advantage.
“You can feel nervous,” Snell said. “Wait and see what happens.”
Snell says her suppliers haven’t raised prices yet, but down the streets of another Santa Ana facility, the owner has another experience.
Chapter 1 owner Jeffrey Jensen has said that since January the avocado and lime cases have been much more expensive.
“It’s already up 20%, so how much will it go next week,” Jensen said. “We’re trying to manage costs.”
Customers like Kim Allen, who eats once a week in Chapter 1, are worried how expensive a food that is expensive can be.
“A lot of little people can’t do anything about it. That’s most of us now. We’re consumers and we’re going to buy things because we’re enough to borrow money for things,” Allen said.
Neither business owner has raised menu prices, but I fear it will be necessary in the near future.
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