All posts tagged "Small Business"

As Minneapolis residents face clashes with federal immigration enforcement agents that have resulted in the killings of two people in the past month, small business owners like Shontay Evans say federal agents’ presence in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul is threatening their financial survival.

Citing declining sales in an atmosphere of fear and distrust, Evans, 41, said she was considering closing Tay’s Secret Garden, a plant nursery she has operated out of her home in St. Paul for seven years.

“Everybody's saving their money because they're scared,” Evans told Raw Story. “It's been pretty rough lately.”...

"Real Housewives" cast member Angie Katsanevas, aka "Angie K," was the first member of the popular Bravo TV series set to testify before Congress on Thursday, inspiring lawmakers to create their own spin on the legendary taglines.

Katsanevas, who stars in the "Real Housewives of Salt Lake City," was testifying before the House Committee on Small Business during a hearing titled "Local Ownership, National Brands: How Franchising is a Pathway to Entrepreneurship," The Hill reported.

The reality show personality has spoken openly about her business savvy and pride as a Greek American, operating a successful salon franchise business called Lunatic Fringe salons, which she co-owns with her husband, Shawn Trujillo. ...

President Donald Trump and his allies have repeatedly claimed that his tariffs are paid exclusively by foreign countries exporting goods into the US, but the reality remains that the costs are paid by the companies importing goods into the country and are most often passed down to consumers. Now, a new report from Fortune has found the full impact on small businesses, with tariffs siphoning thousands of dollars out of them every month.

Fortune reported the findings of the Center for American Progress (CAP), which it describes as a "left-wing think tank," from a report published on Dec. 17. According to CAP, between April, when Trump enacted his sweeping "Liberation Day" tariffs on nearly every country, and September, roughly 236,000 small businesses in the US paid, on average, $151,000 more in import duties compared to the same period of time in 2024. This equates to a little over $25,000 per month.

“The Trump administration’s broad, costly, and frequently shifting policies threaten to undermine one of the strongest engines of the American economy,” Michael Negron, an analyst with CAP, said in a statement about their findings. “A season of opportunity for small businesses has turned into one of uncertainty.”...

President Donald Trump talked like an economic populist, promising to protect consumers, small business owners and workers against rampaging corporations, but it was all talk, says the NY Times, just like it was in his first term.

“The Trump administration is decimating the federal agencies that police corporations and protect workers and consumers. Even as it has delivered large tax breaks to corporations, it is seeking to undermine unions and to strip workers of legal protections,” said the Times. “And under Mr. Trump, there is mounting evidence that the government is cynically wielding its antitrust authority — one of the most important checks on excesses of corporate power — as a means of punishing its enemies, rewarding its friends and consolidating Mr. Trump’s political authority.”

When the Trump administration required Paramount to hire a “bias monitor” for its CBS News division and to forswear diversity, equity and inclusion programs before it could merge with Skydance this was not regulation in the public interest. Nor was it in the public interest for the company’s decision to fire a late-night comedian who frequently poked Trump....

A small father-daughter run wine company in Upstate New York stood up to President Donald Trump's tariffs in a "David and Goliath" showdown — and came out on top, according to reporting by CNN.

The company, called VOS Selections, agreed to be the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit against the Trump administration, "which prompted a three-judge panel at the US Court of International Trade to strike down Trump’s sweeping global tariffs on Wednesday," the report said.

According to the decision, Trump "overstepped his authority by invoking emergency economic powers to impose sweeping tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico and other US trading partners."...

President Donald Trump's tariff-based trade policy "could have a pandemic-sized shock on U.S. small businesses," according to new reporting in Politico.

"Even with Trump announcing on Wednesday a 90-day pause in massive reciprocal tariffs, imports from China, on which many small businesses rely, will be subject to duties of up to 125 percent," wrote Politico's Katherine Hapgood. "Imports from the rest of the world are also subject to a 10 percent tariff, and sectoral tariffs, such as an additional 25 percent on steel and aluminum imports, are still in place."

The article goes on to say that the Trump administration's mixed messages on tariffs — "Trump says he will not pause tariffs," "Trump embraces 'tailored' tariff deals" — has created "troubling" uncertainty among small business owners. ...