Missouri Home Decor Company Says Tariffs Are Stopping Hiring and Expansion

In Kirbyville, Missouri — a rural community in southwest Missouri — VHC Brands, Inc. employs 23 people designing, importing, and distributing home décor products sold across the United States. The company’s products are sourced in India, a supply chain built over years and not easily replaced.

But in recent months, tariffs have become an overwhelming burden. The company shared this reality:

“The tariffs are drafted directly from our checking account by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. This additional and very large tax is creating a huge burden on our business operations. The amount of tariff is so high that it has eliminated expansion, hiring, and other initiatives — exactly the opposite of the intent of implementing tariffs to bring production back to the USA.”

VHC Brands’ experience highlights a basic fact often lost in the tariff debate: tariffs are paid by U.S. companies at the border, not by foreign governments. For a mid-sized employer in a rural area, those payments come straight out of operating cash — money that would otherwise go toward wages, new hires, and investment.

Instead of encouraging domestic growth, these tariffs have frozen it. Expansion plans are shelved. Hiring is on hold. Long-term initiatives are postponed indefinitely.

VHC Brands is one of hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses across the country speaking out about how tariff policy is affecting real employers — especially in rural communities where each job matters.

📢 If your business has been directly affected by tariffs, consider sharing your experience by signing on to our open letter. Adding your voice helps show what these policies mean for American workers, employers, and local economies.