FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) — One year after President Donald Trump imposed sweeping tariffs on Chinese imports, small business owners in the Sandhills say the trade dispute continues to take a toll on their bottom lines, forcing some to dip into savings just to survive.
The 10% tariffs on all Chinese products entering the United States took effect last year, prompting immediate retaliation from China, which announced countermeasures including a 10% levy on U.S. crude oil, agricultural machinery, and large-engine vehicles.
Business owners in Fayetteville say the effect has been significant.
"The tariffs are whipping us," said Ralph Rodriguez, owner of Fort Liberty Pawn and Gun Shop off Fort Bragg Road.
Rodriguez said many of the products he sells are tied to Chinese imports, even when they carry American branding.
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"You know, this gun right here, it has a U.S. company and an import on it. But it comes, it's imported from China," he said.
Because he relies heavily on overseas imports, Rodriguez said the tariffs have deeply cut into his profits, forcing him to tap long-term savings.
"I had to go get money out of a savings account, money that I had saved from six or seven years ago. You know, it was retirement fund money that I'm just trying to hold on," he said.
On Feb. 1, 2025, Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10% tariff on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China. The tariffs took effect Feb. 4, 2025. The administration said the measures were necessary to address what it described as an emergency situation threatening Americans' safety.
Trump has repeatedly defended tariffs as a way to bring jobs and manufacturing back to the United States.
"I see that in the concept of the tariff is, is that I see where it's coming from. They want to promote growth here. They want the jobs. They want stuff to come back home," Rodriguez said. "In the short time, though, it is going to take a lot of small businesses out and a lot of large businesses that stay."
Rodriguez said businesses and consumers are absorbing much of the added cost, with little room to adjust.
"This one amplifier, just the tariff on this is $345, just the tariff. And then you got the little things like customs and where they search the product, and all that gets tallied up. we were we weren't aware of none of this. So in this particular case, we lost money. I got to survive, and I got to feed my family."
He is not alone.
Hishim Bedwan, owner of Dirty South Customs on Skibo Road, said his auto parts and customization shop has also been hit hard.
"We sell wheels, tires, suspension kits. We do window tinting, car stereo, any basically any modification wraps, all kinds of modifications for your vehicle suspension," Bedwan said.
According to Bedwan, prices across his inventory have climbed sharply.
"Well, we've seen an increase in costs of approximately about 25% across the board," he said.
Higher-priced items have been affected the most.
"Wheels and tires, electronics on the higher ticket items. That's where really we felt it, especially on the aluminum, because it reached up to 100% on the tariff," Bedwan said.
Trump has raised average U.S. tariff rates to about 17%, the highest level since 1932, according to the Tax Policy Center. He argues the policy will push consumers toward American-made goods.
But Rodriguez said alternatives are often unavailable.
"When I buy magnets for these speakers that we make right here. So we, we need to get magnets are what they call a driver and a speaker business. There's nobody in the US that's all for it. It's not out there. We can't get it. So we have to go to China," he said. "They'll send us that stuff. And then, within a few weeks, let's say it comes FedEx. We get a bill, we get a bill, and it's a tarif,f and it says Department of Homeland Security."
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