No Alternatives. No Exemptions. No Path Forward.

For some small businesses, tariffs don’t just mean higher costs — they mean shutting down.

A music store in Indiana is facing exactly that reality.

“We import music from Europe and strings. But strings are not even made in USA and without expensive lawyers we can’t figure out how to object and apply for an exemption. We have no US option for these products.

We paid $10,000+ in tariffs. We didn’t hire more employees, and we stopped importing a lot of products. We will close the business in 1–2 years. There is no hope otherwise.”

There’s no domestic alternative. No clear or accessible path to request relief. Just rising costs and shrinking options. This business has already tough decisions— cutting imports, scaling back, holding off on hiring.

Now, as some small businesses become eligible for tariff refunds, there is a chance to recover a portion of what was lost.

But for businesses like this one, the damage is already shaping the future. Refunds don’t reopen shuttered doors — and they don’t restore lost time, growth, or opportunity.

We will continue fighting to ensure that small businesses aren’t put in this position to begin with — where they are forced to navigate complex exemption systems, absorb costs they can’t afford, and ultimately consider closing their doors.

If your business has been impacted by tariffs, add your name and sign the letter. Small businesses deserve policies that give them a path forward — not take it away.

We Pay the Tariffs has also launched a new survey on small business tariff impacts, the IEEPA refunds/process, and future tariff expectations. Please help us reach our (lofty) goal of 500 respondents by May 15 by answering the survey now and/or sharing it with other impacted small businesses.