Small businesses are feeling adverse effects from President Donald Trump’s tariffs, especially this holiday shopping season. That’s according to Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who appeared at Clayton’s Toys in Williamsville Friday to do a little gift shopping, but also to point out the additional expense tariffs put on businesses, and on households.
Clayton’s, which has been in business for more than 100 years, is the oldest continuing toy store operating in the Unites States. As co-owner Kellie Kloss put it, they’d like to keep it that way. But Trump’s global tariffs are making it harder to do business.
“The tariffs have not been great, and it's not just about product,” she said. “It's about what it takes to run a store, and the gift wrap and the boxes and everything that we do has increased significantly this year, and has been up and down, products not coming. It's been challenging. I would definitely, as any small business, would like to see something happen with that.”
Senator Gillibrand announced she’s working on legislation that would end global tariffs for small businesses, known as the Small Business Relief Act.
“This would exempt small businesses from these reckless tariffs and require the administration to refund the costs that small businesses were forced to pay because of them,” Gillibrand said. “I will use every tool I possibly have to help New Yorkers afford not only the holiday season but everyday costs that they have to endure.”
Gillibrand calls the president’s tariffs a direct tax on working people, raising the cost not just for toys, but also groceries, medicine, and clothing.
Joining the senator in calling for relief was State Assemblymember Karen McMahon, whose district includes the neighborhood where Clayton’s is located. She supports lifting tariffs for small businesses, which she and others argue are more at risk when trying to keep up with rising costs.
“Large retailers in our country have already announced that they're going to raise their prices in the new year because of the tariffs. But small businesses often don't have that cushion and the ability to be able to absorb the tariffs,” McMahon said. “So, Kellie has a choice. Either absorb these tariffs, these fees, or pass on the cost to her consumers. It's a choice she shouldn't have to make, because both of those things really endanger her business and her reputation.”
Clayton’s is just one of many small businesses that operate among Main Street in Williamsville. All of them, Williamsville mayor Christine Hunt said, are feeling adverse effects of tariffs.
“All of our constituents are suffering from this. The businesses on Main Street have a higher cost of goods, regardless of whether it's food or beverage or goods, such as what we have in this establishment,” Hunt said. “It's affecting everybody negatively at a higher cost.”
Klos admitted that a wide majority of the items on the shelves were imported, from Canada, China, or Europe. Some have argued that the tariffs should serve as a catalyst to increase domestic manufacturing.
Senator Gillibrand acknowledged the argument, but suggests in a long-running global economy the nation cannot shift back to more domestic manufacturing overnight.
“I understand the intellectual argument. You should be buying things made in America, which we incentivize all the time, but it's not yet how the economy is structured, and that shift would take at least a decade, if not 20 years,” she said.
