WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald Trump said there should “no longer be any questions” regarding certain materials hit by the administration's tariffs.
The Trump Administration’s tariff policies have had a profound impact on businesses and the economy, but small businesses are feeling those effects particularly hard.
Small businesses have less diversified supply chains than their larger counterparts and operate on much slimmer margins, meaning their ability to withstand the economic uncertainty amid the president’s policies isn’t as strong.
It’s why some folks in Boulder got together to give those businesses a lifeline through the Tariff Response Team.
The group’s founder, Ashish Kothari, is a former consultant for Fortune 500 companies and a current small business owner.
He told Denver7 the Tariff Response Team is helping small and medium-sized businesses navigate the uncertainty by showing them the best ways to offset the tariff costs through better pricing, negotiation and team building.
“This notion of agility, this notion of really with speed, this notion of taking different perspectives, tapping into the wisdom of the teams, tapping into the wisdom of the experts out there, is so, so critical right now,” Kothari said.
Kothari used federal data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis to estimate businesses like his would absorb a $150-billion loss through tariff policies nationally. That matters, because while small businesses might operate on slim margins, they make up a sizable portion of our gross domestic product; the U.S. Chamber of Commerce puts that number between 43.5% and 50.7%.
So, giving them a lifeline is critical for our national and local economy.
“These next 30, 60, 90 days is really going to test the mettle of communities and of companies,” Kothari said. “We can choose to actually use this as an opportunity to build skills and really be able to increase our competitiveness.”
Kothari said another important focus of the group is focusing on employees and not just businesses because if those businesses fail, it can be detrimental to those employees’ lives.
If you are a small business owner and are interested in contacting Ashish, you can reach him and the rest of the Tariff Response Team here.
