‘We Feel Vindicated’
Many small businesses are celebrating the Supreme Court’s tariff decision but much uncertainty remains.
Good morning!
Here are today’s highlights:
“It’s our money,” says one of the small business owners who took President Trump to court. “Give it back.”
Here’s how to start the refund process, but don’t get too excited just yet.
Gene Marks gives examples of how AI is already changing the legal industry
There’s been a big increase in small businesses offering 401(k) plans—and for good reason.
PODCAST SCHEDULING NOTE
This week’s Dashboard will be published on Tuesday instead of Friday. It’s a conversation with Gene Marks about what the Supreme Court’s tariff decision means for small businesses. And this week’s peer group conversation will be published on Thursday instead of Tuesday. In the conversation, David C. Barnett, Jaci Russo, and William Vanderbloemen talk about which of their AI initiatives are actually working for them.
THE TRADE WARS
Across the country, small businesses celebrated the Supreme Court decision: “Victor Owen Schwartz, a small wine importer in New York City and one of the plaintiffs in the Supreme Court case, said it was ‘impossible to describe the feeling of elation, that we were right and the court agrees with us.’ Trade groups including the National Retail Federation expressed relief. Owners of small businesses, which were particularly vulnerable to the tariffs, flooded social media, and one another’s inboxes, with messages of delight. ‘The toy industry is just celebrating massively right now,’ said Sari Wiaz, the founder of Baby Paper in Northbrook, Ill., which sells crinkly-sounding paper for babies that it has produced in the same Chinese factory for 15 years. ‘We feel vindicated.’”
“The Supreme Court’s 6-to-3 ruling — which invalidated the tariffs that Mr. Trump had enacted under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, known as IEEPA — scrambled calculations and shattered a fragile sense of stability that had come with adapting to the status quo.”
“‘It’s once again imposing some uncertainty on us, because the question is what is the reaction of the administration going to be?’ said Gert Reichetseder, president and chief executive of Wacker Neuson America, a Wisconsin manufacturer of excavators, front-end loaders and other construction equipment. ‘We need to get clarity A.S.A.P.’”
“Rick Woldenberg, the chief executive of Learning Resources, an educational toy company in Vernon Hills, Ill., and another plaintiff in the Supreme Court case, said the tariffs were an unlawful tax that the government was not entitled to take. ‘It’s our money — give it back,’ he said.”
“Whether, and how quickly, refunds can be obtained is of paramount importance to companies such as Eagle Creek, a luggage manufacturer in Steamboat Springs, Colo. Travis Campbell, the Eagle Creek’s owner and chief executive, said his company hoped to recoup over half a million dollars in tariffs — a meaningful sum for a relatively small business. ‘If we could snap our fingers and have that back tomorrow, it would transform our ability to operate this year,’ he said.” READ MORE
Here’ s how to try to get a refund: “Small business owners can start by contacting their custom broker to pull past entry summaries, which list imported goods and duties paid. Companies must calculate what they paid, and brokers then amend the filings. The timing is also uncertain. Currently, there’s no fixed schedule for issuing refunds, and a surge in claims could easily overwhelm the system, leading to significant delays, Tim Keeler, partner and co-leader of international trade at Meyer Brown and former chief of staff to U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, told CNBC.”
“The tangles only get messier. Billions of dollars are also tied up in customs bonds and collateral. An intricate layer lies beneath the cost of tariffs for companies. As tariffs have jumped 10 percent to 25 percent or higher on some goods, importers have been required to increase the size of their customs bonds, with amounts ranging from the $50,000 minimum to as high as $450 million, CNBC reported. Many companies have also had to post additional collateral to cover those higher guarantees.” READ MORE
President Trump responded by imposing a new global import tax of first 10 percent and then 15 percent: “In a social-media post on Saturday, the president said the new level, up from 10 percent, would take effect immediately. He said his decision to increase the tariff rate was the result of a ‘thorough, detailed, and complete review of the ridiculous, poorly written, and extraordinarily anti-American’ Supreme Court ruling. On Friday the Supreme Court overturned most of Trump’s second-term tariffs, rejecting the administration’s argument that a 1977 law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, implicitly authorized the tariffs. Later that day, Trump denounced the ruling and immediately reinstated a 10-percent global tariff under a different authority—Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.”
“Section 122 allows for tariffs of up to 15 percent for 150 days. After that period, Trump has said those levies will be replaced with a longer-lasting tariff authority—Section 301 of the Trade Act. That provision would allow for more permanent levies, but requires monthslong investigations before tariffs can be imposed, which Trump hinted at in his Saturday post.”
“Raising the global tariff from 10 percent to 15 percent would align those levies with the terms of major trade agreements that Trump completed with other nations, using IEEPA levies as leverage. Agreements with the European Union, Japan, and South Korea that Trump struck in 2025 apply tariffs of 15 percent to most of the goods from those countries.”
“Section 122 was originally devised to handle balance of payment issues in currency markets. Some scholars argue it was rendered obsolete when the U.S. abandoned the gold standard and adopted a system of floating exchange rates. It has never before been used for tariffs, but it remains unclear whether any company or organization will challenge the temporary levies.”
“The Trump administration hasn’t yet outlined which countries it will target with the longer-lasting Section 301 tariffs, but the U.S. Trade Representative’s office will have to complete separate investigations for each nation. Those investigations typically take a year or more to complete.” READ MORE
For goods coming from some countries, the new tariff will actually be higher: “The new tariff, announced in a social media post, is higher than the rate Mr. Trump initially ordered — and, for some countries, it is harsher than the duties that previously applied to their goods. But the president has carved out exceptions for certain products and countries, while promising additional tariffs on the horizon. The result is a fast-shifting patchwork of trade policies, which includes a roster of other import taxes that apply to foreign steel, lumber, cars and other goods on national security grounds.” SEE THE IMPACT ON SPECIFIC COUNTRIES
For domestic manufacturers, reaction is mixed: “AccuRounds, a contract manufacturer in Avon, [Mass.], saw an uptick in sales thanks to the tariffs, as U.S. companies placed more orders for precision-machined metal parts. Chief executive Mike Tamasi said he doesn’t expect Friday’s court decision to have much of an impact on the brisk revenue he’s seeing at his business, which he expects to grow 10 to 20 percent this year from 2025. ‘I wasn’t totally surprised because I’m not sure how legal the move was by the president,’ Tamasi said. ‘It’s not going to change how we operate day-to-day other than hopefully realizing some input costs are going to go down. That will make us more competitive.’”
“The Trump administration’s tariffs did help AccuRounds win back some work that had previously been lost to overseas competitors, he said, such as the manufacturing of parts for medical and semiconductor clients. But the tariffs also drove up the cost of some raw materials that AccuRounds uses. The levies also prompted the company to decide against buying a machine from Switzerland last year. But Tamasi said the company now plans to import some machinery, and ‘no tariffs will certainly help.’”
“Another local manufacturer, Canton-based Remtec, a maker of substrates for printed circuit boards, shrugged off the tariff news. Chief executive Brian Buyea said the tariffs had a ‘net neutral’ impact on his business because the Trump administration exempted microelectronics companies like Remtec days after first announcing the tariffs. However, Buyea said the tariffs still had an impact. Domestic sales increased as some U.S. companies began buying from Remtec to avoid the tariffs on imported products. But the company lost some European customers who turned away from the U.S. market and sought alternative sources.”
“Sam Cooper, vice president and co-owner of Klear Vu, a 60-year-old Fall River manufacturer of cushions and home textiles for retailers such as Walmart and Kohl’s, said he was encouraged by the Supreme Court decision. The company imports materials for its products from abroad, mostly China. ‘There was a great sense of relief that there are some parameters or there will be some more parameters on the way in which this authority was being used,’ Cooper said.
“He hopes that the ruling will remove the uncertainty surrounding his business. At times, Cooper said that dealing with the seesawing nature of the tariffs felt like they had to magically divine the future when making decisions. ‘The way in which they were implemented, it was almost like a war against American manufacturing,’ Cooper said.” READ MORE
Here’s why the tariffs haven’t been shrinking the trade deficit: “President Trump is doubling down on his tariffs, even though they have so far failed to achieve one of their key stated goals: rebalancing lopsided global trade. On the contrary, recent data show the tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down on Friday and that Trump has vowed to reimpose under a different statute are cementing these imbalances. From Berlin to Tokyo, the world’s biggest exporting countries have reacted to U.S. tariffs by further committing to economic policies that support exports, subsidizing manufacturers to help them leap over the tariff wall.”
“As for America, it very much remains the world’s importer of last resort. The U.S. trade deficit in goods rose to a record high of $1.24 trillion in 2025, driven by a 4.3-percent increase in goods imports, according to data published Thursday by the Census Bureau.” READ MORE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
Gene Marks says AI is already changing the way lawyers work: “While no attorney I know is relying on these AI tools to replace the actual services they perform for their clients, they are leaning more into these tools to simply help get their jobs done faster and to improve both their firm’s efficiency and client affordability. How? Derek Martin, a co-founder and attorney at Driver Defense Team, a firm based in Stone Park, [Illinois], says his office uses AI heavily in the discovery process. ‘For example, when we represent a client who was arrested, we have the video evidence (policy body-worn camera, dash camera, etc.) transcribed and organized by AI,’ he said. ‘It helps to summarize timelines and identify key moments for attorney review and allows our lawyers to spend less time searching and more time thinking about case facts and strategy.’”
“Andrew Stoltmann, a securities investment fraud attorney in Hoffman Estates, [Illinois], agrees and says discovery is probably the most important use of AI in his firm. He uses his AI assistant to look for patterns, trends, and specific documents. And he’s seeing significant time savings. ‘AI has probably cut down legal research time from 20 hours a month down to about one hour a month,’ he said. ‘It has been nothing short of amazing.’”
“Raiford Dalton Palmer, a divorce attorney based in Naperville, [Illinois], is implementing a new AI application called Lexidesk for client intake to help handle new client phone calls and text messages when the firm’s human specialists aren’t available. Besides using the teams’ version of ChatGPT to share conversations and research across the firm, he says he’s implemented Harvey.ai to assist with drafting, research, analysis, and document review, and is starting to work with Lexis Protégé to help with guided workflows, automate repetitive tasks, and provide a secure, private environment for handling sensitive firm data.” READ MORE
THE 21 HATS PODCAST: DASHBOARD
Where Do You Go for Unbiased Exit Advice? Sooner or later, most business owners run into the same unsettling question: How do I actually get out of this thing? Pass it to family? Sell to a competitor? To key employees? To private equity? To an ESOP or an Employee Ownership Trust? Or maybe just shut it down? There’s no shortage of advice—but almost all of it comes with strings attached. Most advisors know one path best, and not coincidentally, it’s the path they’re paid to promote. Sorting through the options on your own can feel overwhelming, expensive, and risky. What if there were a place to get an honest, apples-to-apples comparison—one that looks at your specific business and lays out what really fits?
That’s the problem Sonali Kothari is trying to solve with Zolidar, a startup she co-founded. In this episode, she explains how the company is building a tool to help owners think clearly about their exit. You can even test-drive it yourself with Zolidar’s free 10-minute Day Zero Guide for a preliminary assessment.
You can subscribe to the 21 Hats Podcast wherever you get podcasts.
HUMAN RESOURCES
There’s been a big increase in small businesses offering 401(k) plans: “The number of workers at small businesses with access to 401(k)-style plans has grown by nearly six million since 2019, according to a report published Saturday by Gusto, a payroll and benefits provider. Among them is Sherrell Martin, CEO of Nitram Financial Solutions, who started a 401(k) plan a few years ago for her then six-person firm, which handles accounting and bookkeeping services for professional-service companies and faith-based schools.”
“Martin said she added the 401(k) to help her National Harbor, Md., company attract and retain workers. She also wanted to save for her own retirement, something she had put on hold after launching the firm in 2012. ‘As an accountant, I understand the importance of investing and saving for the future, but I wasn’t doing it,’ said Martin, who was worried about the cost of matching contributions and administrative fees.”
“Small businesses have lagged behind larger ones in offering 401(k)s, in part because of the cost of setting them up and the time involved. But in recent years, 401(k) adoption has picked up among smaller employers in response to a competitive job market, relatively new tax credits, and laws in several states that require many employers to give workers a way to save.”
“Congress in 2019 created a new type of plan, called a pooled employer plan, or PEP. It allows unrelated firms to join in the same offering, an arrangement that is gaining popularity among small businesses. This is occurring as a relatively new law is pushing more workers into 401(k) plans. Under it, employers with plans created since the end of 2022 are required to automatically enroll workers, who can opt out.” READ MORE
A no-tipping policy spurs a backlash: “Geoff Davis doesn’t want his employees to have to rely on tips. The acclaimed chef, who worked in restaurants and cocktail bars across the Bay Area and wine country before opening the Oakland soul food eatery Burdell, points out on customers’ receipts that tipping culture in the United States has a racist history — rooted in underpaid service jobs relegated to formerly enslaved Black workers. Instead of tips, his restaurant adds a 20-percent service fee to the bill.”
“It takes the guesswork and luck out of the equation, Davis said, and helps to stabilize wages across dining rooms and kitchens — where servers often receive tips but cooks and dishwashers do not — and helps offset the cost of healthcare benefits offered to full-time employees.”
“The service charge is not an out-of-the-ordinary practice, and is common among some upscale restaurants. And yet, Davis’ restaurant has been the target in recent days of online hate, a surge of vitriol prompted by a now-deleted Reddit post featuring the service charge policy printed at the bottom of Burdell receipts.”
“Burdell, which was named the best U.S. restaurant by Food & Wine magazine in 2025, was immediately flooded with nasty reviews on platforms such as Yelp, as well as angry, hateful and, at times, threatening emails, phone calls, and direct messages on social media. ‘I’m just blown away by why we are getting held to a different standard,’ Davis said. ‘We aren’t doing anything crazy. We didn’t invent service charges.’” READ MORE
THE 21 HATS RESOURCE GUIDE
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THE 21 HATS PODCAST
Hot Seat: Three Owners, No Easy Answers: Sometimes the best conversations start with a simple question—and then another, and another. This week, we put Kate Morgan, Jaci Russo, and Ted Wolf in the hot seat and fire away: Are you hiring? Are you finding impressive job candidates? What was the worst job you ever had—and did you learn anything from it? Have you bought crypto? If you had $10,000 a month to spend on marketing, where would it go? Should a marketing agency ever turn its marketing over to another marketing agency? What’s holding you back? What’s the simplest thing you’ve never quite figured out how to do?
None of these are trick questions, but they don’t necessarily have easy answers. Kate admits she’s never opened her accounting software. Jaci says one of the best things that ever happened to her was getting fired. Ted recounts losing 40 percent of his company’s revenue in a single weekend. Running a business means living with trade-offs, uncertainty, and the occasional punch to the gut. As Jaci reminds us, it usually works out—one way or another. But that doesn’t mean the answers are simple when you’re in the middle of it.
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Thanks for reading, everyone. — Loren
I wound't get the warm fuzzies. There's about a half-dozen other ways the administration can level tariffs that are out of the emergency route. Sure, those that paid under this ruling may get their money back...some day.