How tariffs can ripple across an entire small business

MMA International LLC, a small wholesale jewelry business in Austin, Texas with six employees, relies on a global network of suppliers to bring unique products to the U.S. market.

“I import geographically specific products like Baltic amber from Poland, Ancient Roman glass from Israel, chain from Italy, and cultured pearls from China — products that simply could never wholly be made here,” the owner explains. “I buy from some domestic manufacturers as well.”

When tariffs began rising during the trade wars, the business initially tried to absorb the extra costs.

“Early on I was absorbing the tariffs hoping they would be reversed,” the owner says. But as a wholesale distributor working on thin margins, that quickly became unsustainable — especially as rates climbed as high as 50% on some imports from India.

Eventually, the company was forced to raise prices in 2025. To remain competitive against large wholesalers, the owner spread the increases across the entire product line rather than dramatically raising the price of a few products.

“I averaged the added tariffs across everything so there would be smaller increases on all products rather than huge increases on select items,” the owner says. “Even my made-in-USA items went up.”

Following the Supreme Court’s decision striking down the IEEPA tariffs, courts have said that the duties collected under that authority should be returned to the businesses that paid them. Now the government must ensure those refunds are delivered quickly.

If your business paid IEEPA tariffs, consider joining the growing coalition of 1,100+ small businesses calling for refunds by signing the letter to Congress and the Administration.