Tariffs will mean the end for my small business

Business ownership is not for the faint of heart. It takes grit, determination and hard work.

If I had realized just how difficult things would be when I opened my first shop in the early 1980s — a humble 300-square-foot store in the Poconos — I’m not sure if I would have gone through with it. But I am glad I did, and I have taken quite the journey on my way to creating a multi-million dollar company.

I didn’t go to college, but I graduated from the school of hard knocks. I have seen the ups and downs of entrepreneurship. But nothing in my four decades as a business owner has tested me like the current tariffs on toy imports.

My business has been rooted in the American values that make our country the greatest in the world. The toys I have helped get into the hands of kids across America spur both imagination and education. From doll trunks to products inspired by real-life pioneers, I take pride in knowing that I am contributing to an environment that encourages children to unplug and engage in storytelling, reading and learning.

But now I face the very real possibility of losing everything as I near what should have been a time when I begin thinking about retirement. I face this challenge not due to a lack of innovation or a failure to adapt, but because I, along with thousands of other small businesses simply cannot survive the crushing tariffs on an industry that has always been previously exempted. 

President Trump has long championed American businesses, and there is perhaps no greater advocate for American workers. I also agree that strengthening domestic manufacturing is a critically important endeavor for us as a nation, particularly for highly critical industries like technology or pharmaceuticals.

However, in industries like toys, these tariffs are leaving thousands of small business owners like me on the verge of having to close up shop, let our employees go and file for bankruptcy. 

I am a small-batch manufacturer. I don’t order toys by the tens of thousands. I make high-quality, low-volume items, sometimes in as small a volume as 500 pieces at a time, and I don’t have the negotiating power of the big box stores.

The reality is that the U.S. simply doesn’t have the factories that “produce for others” or can re-tool machinery on a constant basis, labor force, or infrastructure right now to absorb the kind of “hand-crafted” production deficit we’d face by bringing all toy production immediately back home. I’ve looked. I’ve asked members of Congress for years about this. No one has an answer.

And it won’t only be me or the other small toy businesses that are impacted. There are millions of small businesses in America, including many that operate in the wholesale and retail space like I do. We’re in danger of seeing more empty storefronts, higher unemployment, landlords or local restaurants suffering, and revenue that is nearly eight times greater than the value of our import value moving throughout our communities and our nation.

I’ve already weathered so much. From the financial crisis to COVID-19, supply chain crises to competition from Chinese direct sellers who benefit from government-subsidized shipping, I’ve seen it all and still pressed forward. But now, I fear I am left with no options.

I’m 63. I’ve poured not only my heart and soul into this business but my retirement savings, as well. Bankruptcy at this stage isn’t just a setback, it’s a cliff without a parachute or landing zone.

Trump has always said he’s for the forgotten American. I ask him and his administration to remember the small business owners who kept going when the going got tough. Let’s find an alternative way forward that keeps toy businesses out of the fray. One that defends American interests without sacrificing the very entrepreneurs who embody the American Dream.

Joann Cartiglia is CEO and owner of The Queen's Treasures, a New York-based small business.