The founder and CEO of a clothing company made a direct appeal to Donald Trump during a CNN interview Monday, where the MAGA supporter urged the president to reconsider his sweeping tariff policy that he said is threatening small businesses like his own.
Steven Borrelli of Cuts Clothing, who said he voted for Trump three times, told CNN’s Jake Tapper that his e-commerce company has been hit hard by the 145% tariff on goods coming from China. Cuts, a California-based menswear brand, relied on a workaround known as the “3-2-1 loophole” – importing items from China through Mexico and bringing them across the U.S. border on a daily basis.
“We don’t like cheap China goods flooding the market, Borrelli said. “The thing that I'm trying to reiterate is that the speed of which it's happening is very difficult for businesses to react to.”
ALSO READ: ‘Pain. Grief. Anger’: Families heartbroken as Trump backlash smashes adoption dreams
Borrelli used his interview on Monday to call for a 90-day transition period to allow small businesses to adapt, which he says other countries are allowing. Without it, he warned, many may not survive.
“A lot of businesses won't make it 90 days if this continues,” he said. Borrelli ended his interview with a direct message to Trump: “We need more time.”
“President Trump, as a longtime supporter of your mission and to ‘Make America Great Again,’ I want to be a part of that with you, but we e-commerce companies all across the United States we need more time," he said. "Give us a 90-day off ramp to get off of our China goods and just tell us the plan.”
Borrelli added: “A lot of small businesses, they don't have the cash flow to get through a 90-day negotiation, and it's going to devastate a lot of businesses like Cuts.”
Watch the video below via CNN or at the link here: