Snowy Owl Coffee Roaster co-owner Shayna Ferullo, on Cape Cod, must pay tariffs on all the coffee she imports but Hawaii is the only U.S. state that grows the crop. She is worried that she might be forced to lay off employees, reduce their benefits, and possibly close her business because of tariffs.
Ferullo was among a handful of Massachusetts business owners, at the invitation of U.S. Sen Edward Markey, D-Massachusetts, who spoke on May 8 about the impacts President Trump's tariffs were having on their bottom lines.
Markey introduced a Small Business Liberation Act on May 5 that would exempt small businesses from paying tariffs.
Ferullo and her husband, Manuel Ainzuain, work with coffee growers all over the world. The 10% tariff they have to pay on top of record high prices for green coffee in January is making it a scary time, she said. The Cape's seasonal economy and the uncertainty with tariffs make it harder to plan ahead.
The couple started the roasting business ten years ago and have grown it to three cafes with 30 year-round and 70 seasonal employees. They import coffee from small partners in Peru, Nicaragua, Kenya, Ethiopia, Columbia.
“We’re a numbers game, a volume game” Ferullo said. “We operate on tight margins. Having to absorb these costs is scary. It's a difficult time."
There are 700,000 small businesses in Massachusetts, Markey said during the webinar. That translates to about one business for every 10 residents. Small business owners make up about 97% of all importers/exporters. They are Democrats and Republicans, and they suffer more than the big companies — some who have gotten exemptions — when it comes to paying tariffs, he said.
Markey took the opportunity during National Small Business Week, May 4-10, to take aim at what he calls Trump’s “irrational” tariffs.
“Small businesses are the backbone of the economy, but for small business owners, Trump’s tariffs are back-breaking,” he said.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has called for tariff exclusions for small businesses, Markey said.
Owners of Boston Pro Sound, 1854 Cycling, Rocheleau Tool and Die and Commonwealth Kitchen also shared how the tariffs impacted them specifically.
Brandale Randolph’s company, 1854 Cycling, in Massachusetts and Connecticut, employs formerly incarcerated individuals, 80% of them women, to build, service and program electronic bicycles. The skills and living wages workers learn and earn can help break the cycle of poverty many of them experience, he said. The tariffs could be a death knell for the company, the women he employs, and the communities they live in, he said.