President Trump’s new country-specific tariffs, on top of existing trade levies, will raise the cost of imports for U.S. businesses by an exponential amount, though in an announcement during the day Wednesday Trump said some countries, excluding China, would receive a 90-day reprieve. Rick Muskat, president of family-owned shoe retailer Deer Stags which imports its goods from China and sells in major retailers, says his company is looking at tariffs on current freight orders rising from $60,000 to as high as $1 million. Muskat says he is going to pay, but many cash-strapped business owners can’t afford the additional costs, and will leave income shipments stranded at ports.
Businesses both large and small tell CNBC that the latest round of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, targeting countries all over the world and taking