Tariffs on Essential Inputs Are Hitting U.S. Manufacturers

In Kennesaw, Georgia, a six-person specialty chemical manufacturer is being squeezed by tariffs on raw materials that are not produced in the United States — and that cannot be easily replaced.

The company relies on chemical inputs sourced from China, Japan, and India, materials that simply don’t have domestic alternatives. When tariffs were imposed, the cost didn’t fall on foreign producers. It landed squarely on this small U.S. manufacturer.

They described the impact this way:

“The tariffs have placed a heavy burden on our cashflow and profitability, as we cannot easily pass on these costs to our customers.”

Small manufacturers don’t always have the leverage to renegotiate contracts, stockpile inventory, or shift supply chains. The result is a quiet squeeze: higher input costs, shrinking margins, and growing uncertainty about how long operations can continue under these conditions.

This Georgia manufacturer’s experience echoes what hundreds of others have shared as part of the We Pay the Tariffs coalition — a network of more than 800 small businesses speaking out about how emergency tariff policies are affecting companies that are doing everything they can to manufacture responsibly and competitively.

📢 If your small business has been directly by tariffs, add your voice to our open letter and help show the real cost of these policies on U.S. businesses.