'It’s a lie!' Small-business owner breaks down over Trump tariffs

A Minnesota small-business owner was brought to tears Thursday afternoon on CNN, talking about the effect Donald Trump's tariffs have had on her olive oil and vinegar shop.

Sarah Piepenburg, owner of Vinaigrette in Minneapolis, joined "The Lead" with fill-in anchor Phil Mattingly, saying Trump's tariffshave hit every aspect of her business.

"Not only in the oils and vinegars that I import from all over the world, but down to my containers, the bottles that I use, the lids for my bottles, and even the shrink wrap for my bottles," she said. "All aspects of my business have been impacted by these tariffs, and it's been pretty substantial."

Piepenburg said she's been forced to raise prices and cut expenses, noting she recently saw a price increase from the finalization of the EU tariffs at 15%.

She also imports products from Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia. She railed that Trump's fluctuating tariffs have proven "extremely difficult to navigate." As such, they placed a tariff charge on goods and listed it as a line item on customer receipts.

Piepenburg said some customers have faced "sticker shock."

"We know that we're a luxury item. And my fear is that we will lose some of our customers as a result," she said. "We have seen a little bit of a decline in our sales. And again, with the expenses of every aspect of things that we're doing going up."

She became choked up as she said, tariffs have "made us late on our rent, it has made us late paying our employees." Piepenburg said she's gotten a second job.

She concluded with a stern message to policymakers.

"It's a lie to believe that anyone else but the American consumer is paying for these tariffs. And what I'm afraid of is we are going to drastically change Main Street businesses that make our communities. And I'm afraid, over time, what's going to happen? And it’s been extremely difficult to continue this."

Watch the clip below or at this link.