Valentine's Day Tariffs: The Only Thing Getting Crushed This Year Are American Small Businesses

Small jewelry and chocolate businesses face devastating cost increases; Popular Valentine's Day gifts faced over $3 billion in extra tariffs in just 9 months

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 12, 2026 – As Americans prepare to celebrate Valentine’s Day, small businesses that supply the holiday’s most iconic gifts, including jewelry and chocolate, are warning that tariffs are forcing them to raise prices or risk closing their doors. We Pay the Tariffs, a grassroots coalition of over 800 small businesses, is highlighting how the impacts of presidential tariffs are hitting Main Street retailers hardest during one of their most important sales periods.

Some of America’s favorite Valentine’s Day gifts—including jewelry, perfumes and cosmetic products, wine, candy & chocolate, flowers, candles, and greeting cards—faced $3.1 billion in extra tariffs between March and November 2025. For anyone thinking “just buy American products,” essential raw materials needed to make these items in the United States often must be imported and therefore subject to tariffs. For example, sugar, cocoa, and gemstones alone faced about $600 million in extra tariffs during the same period.

No Love for Small Businesses

Faced with high tariffs, small business owners importing America’s favorite Valentine’s Day gifts are caught between impossible choices: absorb costs they cannot afford, raise prices and lose customers, or close permanently. 

Tariffs on finished jewelry amounted to $1 billion between March and November 2025. Jiten Budhrani of Modes Jewelry, a Dallas-based jewelry importer, explains that “We distribute and sell to hundreds of small businesses across the southwest. We are now forced to raise prices on products for all our small independent retailers,” warning, “consumers cannot absorb these kinds of increases that quickly.” 

Chocolate and candy importers haven’t been spared either, with both goods facing $284 million in tariffs during the same period. Pashmina De Shon, owner of Bar & Cocoa, a specialty chocolate business based in Greensboro, North Carolina, explains the impossible position tariffs have created. “We import premium chocolate from small makers around the world. Tariffs directly raise our costs because we pay them upfront before products can even reach our warehouse,” said De Shon. “Unlike large corporations, we don't have the cash flow to absorb these extra costs. Our choices become raising prices on customers, reducing staff hours, or cutting back on growth.” 

“Buying American” Can’t Sweeten the Pain

For many Valentine’s Day gifts, buying American simply is not an option: products or key inputs cannot be sourced domestically. 

Due to the February climate, fresh flowers sold on Valentine’s Day are often imported from Latin America. None of the new tariffs were in effect last Valentine's Day, but at current levels, they would have added approximately

$60 million in duties on flowers across January and February of 2025. 

Even American manufacturers of popular products can't escape the tariff crunch. Tariffs on sugar and cocoa hit $545 million. Erin Calvo-Bacci, owner of Bacci Chocolate Design in Reading, Massachusetts, has already been forced to lay off staff. "Chocolate is not grown in the US, the chocolate machines are not built in the US, and the cups which hold the peanut butter cups are not made in the US," said Calvo-Bacci. “We can't just shift. We can't just absorb the costs because we're self-funded. We don't have as many staff as we have in the past.”

Jewelry makers haven’t been spared either, with materials facing $51 million in duties between March and November 2025. Caroline Nalle, owner of Mureta & Co, a small family-owned jewelry business in Virginia, is watching her business struggle to survive. Her company specializes in lab-grown diamonds and gemstones: an industry entirely dependent on international supply chains because production facilities do not exist in the United States.

"There are currently no lab-grown diamond production facilities in the United States. Every lab-grown diamond sold in this country originates from India or China,” said Nalle. “Because of the tariffs, our cost to source finished lab-grown diamond jewelry has increased by more than 50%. Just a few months ago, we were a thriving small business doubling our sales annually. Today, we are struggling to pay our bills and keep our doors open.”

Small Business Interviews Available:

We Pay the Tariffs can connect media with small business owners from across the country who can describe firsthand the impact of tariffs on their operations, employees, and customers. Contact press@wepaythetariffs.com to arrange interviews.

About the Data

IEEPA tariff collection data is based on publicly available U.S. Customs and Border Protection figures. State-by-state presidential tariff data come from Trade Partnership Worldwide's State Tariff Tracker database, which combines national import and tariff data from the U.S. Census Bureau, tariff schedules from the U.S. International Trade Commission, and state import value data from Census. Trade Partnership Worldwide data is frequently cited in national and international media, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Washington Post, ABC, NBC, CBS, Axios, Politico, CNBC, CNN, BBC, and more. Contact us at info@wepaythetariffs.com for more.

About We Pay the Tariffs

We Pay the Tariffs is a grassroots coalition of over 800 small businesses that advocates against tariffs. Members include restaurants, manufacturers, retailers, game companies, importers, and other enterprises from every U.S. region. The vast majority of members are micro businesses with 10 or fewer employees. For more information: www.wepaythetariffs.com

MEDIA CONTACT: press@wepaythetariffs.com