Trump's Tariffs Stab American Workers' Backs; Wave of Small Business Bankruptcies in 2025

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA)_International Service: The Guardian newspaper warns in a comprehensive analysis that Trump's tariffs on imports from China and other countries, which include rates of up to 145 percent, have destroyed the limited profit margins of small businesses and reduced their ability to absorb financial risk to zero. According to a survey by Small Business for America’s Future, 71 percent of small business owners expect the tariffs to have a “very negative” impact on consumers during the holiday season, with 44 percent describing it as a “very negative” impact.

 

At a news conference for the We Pay the Tariffs coalition — a grassroots group of more than 700 small and medium-sized American businesses — Joan Cartilia, owner of Queen’s Treasures, a toy company in upstate New York, spoke in a shaky voice about investing her entire retirement savings in the business. “I have no hope of retirement today. I feel like the government is practically taking me out of the market.” Cartilia, recently named the American Toy Association’s “Defender of the Year,” stressed that 80 percent of its revenue in the U.S. goes to jobs in logistics, packaging, and retail, but that 20 percent tariffs on toy imports from China have forced them to raise prices and erode competitiveness.

 

The coalition said in a statement that the tariffs have not only increased the cost of imported goods by 30-40 percent, but also cost U.S. importers an additional $67 billion in the first half of 2025, an average of $90,000 per small business. Business owners like Busy Baby in Minnesota have reported that the 125 percent tariff on Chinese products has put them on the brink of losing their homes and going bankrupt, and even forced Walmart to cut back on orders.

 

The Guardian continues its analysis by pointing to the wave of bankruptcies: from April to July 2025, hundreds of small businesses in the retail, manufacturing and import sectors closed their doors due to the inability to absorb the costs of the tariffs. Economists warn that the policies, which Trump has called “Freedom Day,” are in fact “an inflation tax” and could reduce investment, erode trust in the government and push the US economy into recession. Even conservative groups such as the National Taxpayers Union and the Cato Institute have described the tariffs as “a threat to military preparedness, foreign relations and the federal budget” in petitions to the US Supreme Court.

 

The crisis is intensifying as Trump claims the tariffs will bring in “trillions of dollars” for the government, but critics see them as a cover for arrogant policies that sacrifice American workers for the interests of big corporations. The “We Pay the Tariffs” coalition is rallying in front of the Supreme Court to demand the immediate repeal of the tariffs, insisting that these policies not only destroy small businesses but also deprive future generations of workers of job opportunities.