When Tariffs Hit, Small Businesses Have Nowhere to Turn

Some products simply don’t have a domestic substitute.

Açaí berries are one of them — grown in the rainforests of South America, they can’t be “reshored,” substituted, or sourced elsewhere. For one U.S. small business, that reality collided head-on with 2025 tariff policy.

“We are a small business that imports açaí berries from Brazil — a fruit that grows exclusively in the rainforests of South America. As a result of the 2025 U.S. tariff policies, we were subject to a 10% tariff on our imports from April through August 2025, followed by an increased rate of 50% from August through November 2025. These tariffs have placed a significant financial burden on our operations and directly impact our ability to bring this unique and natural product to the U.S. market.

As a result of the 2025 U.S. tariff policies, we incurred approximately $200,000 in tariff costs under the initial 10% rate, and an additional $120,000 under the subsequent 50% rate. The dramatic increase to 50% made it financially unsustainable for us to maintain our usual import volume. As a consequence, we were forced to significantly reduce our imports and faced out-of-stock situations on several of our products following August 2025.”

In just a few months, this business paid approximately $320,000 in tariffs.

No change in sourcing. No shift in strategy. Just higher costs — and fewer products on shelves. For small businesses, the margin for absorbing shocks like this is thin. A sudden jump from 10% to 50% isn’t a policy adjustment — it’s a breaking point.

Now, small businesses like this one are finally eligible to receive refunds on certain tariffs they were forced to pay. But the story shouldn’t end there.

Refunds address the damage after the fact — they don’t prevent it from happening again. We will continue fighting to ensure that new tariffs don’t put small businesses in situations like this in the first place — where they are forced to choose between absorbing massive costs, raising prices, or pulling products off the market entirely.

If your business has been impacted by tariffs, add your name and sign the letter. Your voice helps show policymakers exactly what these policies mean in the real world — and why change is needed.

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.