The White House Rebuffs the Chamber

There will be no exceptions for small businesses trying to survive the tariffs.

Good Morning!

Here are today’s highlights:

• Lou Mosca says mayors actually listen. What would you tell yours?

• More companies are openly blaming their price hikes on the tariffs.

• Goldman Sachs says its Black in Business program helps entrepreneurs stay in the black.

• Spending by international visitors to the U.S. is expected to fall by $9 billion this year.

THE TRADE WARS

The White House declines to help small businesses: “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, asked for small companies to be excluded from tariffs if they can show it would harm U.S. workers and for products that cannot be made in the United States or are not readily available. ‘The relief for small businesses is going to come in the form of the largest tax cut in American history,’ White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller told reporters when asked about the request. Asked if that was a no to short-term small business tariff relief, Miller added: ‘It’s a yes on tax relief for small businesses.’”

• “The issue for small businesses is that they are losing income right now in the face of stiff tariffs on imports from China (145 percent for most goods) and other countries. The Chamber said it supports Trump’s goal of eliminating unfair trade but that small businesses are being hurt by higher costs and interrupted supply chains amid ongoing tariff negotiations, calling on the administration to ‘work together to avoid a recession.’” READ MORE

A survey shows that only 3 percent of businesses expect the tariffs to have a positive impact: “Most Texas business executives expect a negative impact from tariffs on their business this year, with most of them planning to pass cost increases through to customers. That's according to a Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report, based on a monthly survey of Texas business executives. In April, supplemental questions about the impact of tariffs were included. Almost 59 percent of the 348 respondents expect the higher tariffs to negatively impact their business this year. Just over 3 percent expect tariffs to have a positive impact, and 17 percent of respondents expect no impact from the tariffs.”

• “Those who responded yes to higher tariffs negatively impacting business were asked follow-up questions to determine how the costs would impact their organizations. Over 30 percent of executives expect a significant increase in input costs, with another 33 percent expecting a slight increase. Business executives expect lower profit margins, with 42 percent expecting a slight decrease and over 16 percent expecting a significant decrease.” READ MORE