REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. – Brandi Bailey, owner of Game On! Video Games and More in Rehoboth Beach, is feeling the pinch of rising costs from overseas suppliers. Nearly the entire store is stocked with products from China, Mexico, and Japan, and Bailey says the impact of recent tariffs has been felt in every corner of her business.
On Wednesday, President Trump ordered a 90-day pause on new tariffs, with the exception of China. He also raised tariff rates on China to 125 percent, after China announced retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. President Trump says he's lowered the "reciprocal tariff" rate on all countries to 10 percent.
The U.S. imported more than $438 billion in goods from China last year, according to data from the Census Bureau. That included $127 billion worth of electronics, according to Trading Economics, a site that tracks international trade.
“They just announced to us yesterday that they’re going to raise their prices,” Bailey said, referring to her distributors. “So we’re trying to hold out to see if we can ride it out so that we don’t have to raise prices.”
Bailey explained that the tariffs have made it harder to receive certain products, and that the uncertainty is especially difficult for small businesses. While larger companies may have more resources to absorb such costs, she says smaller shops like hers are left with fewer options to offset the financial burden.
John Riley-Spillane, co-owner of Rehoboth Breeze, a clothing store, is also feeling the effects of the tariffs, but he says he's been fortunate. His store relies heavily on overseas suppliers, but he says that after the election, he took a gamble by over-ordering stock in anticipation of higher costs due to tariffs.
“We actually over-ordered in anticipation of tariffs going into effect and that they may be impacting the cost of the goods that we purchase from our vendors,” said Riley-Spillane.
Businesses CoastTV has spoken to over the past week say the current tariff situation is full of unknowns.
“I know, ideally, production should be happening in the U.S. to support the U.S. economy, but that takes decades to build,” said Bailey.