Latest news with #Brown&Haley
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘It screws with all of us.' Tacoma small businesses react to tariff uncertainty
At a business roundtable on Wednesday focused on the effects of widespread tariffs on local trade, one factor was expressed repeatedly. Small businesses are taking huge hits. A February 2025 survey conducted by the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber of Commerce found that 76% of respondents expected challenges due to tariffs, and almost 40% were already actively adjusting supply chains. Those who employed 1-5 workers made up 45% of respondents, and 51% of respondents shared that they rely on trade for over 11% of their revenue. When U.S. Sen. Patty Murray visited Tacoma for Wednesday's roundtable held at candymaker Brown & Haley's facility, the leader of the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County emphasized to the group how 'predictability drives competitiveness.' Michael Catsi, president & CEO of the EDB, added that 'businesses need a stable environment to make smart decisions about sourcing materials, negotiating contracts and investing in capacity.' That predictability so far has been elusive, according to three separate business owners who shared their own tariff stories with The News Tribune. For Kyle Willingham, owner of Naomi Joe Coffee Roasters in Tacoma, the coffee market has become 'a hot mess.' As he explained in a phone interview Friday, there are two primary coffee trade markets, commodity (think lower-cost store brands) and specialty. Willingham, as a local roaster, buys from the specialty growers market. He said for now, he's turned off the noise of the daily news cycle when it comes to purchasing decisions. He described recent dealings with a new wholesale client. Willingham wanted to make sure he could lock in a reasonable price for a contract. And then, an initial round of tariff hikes with Mexico was announced by the Trump administration, and 'all this chaos kind of started happening,' Willingham said. 'So I scare-bought a bunch of coffee with capital that I had been saving up for something else to ensure that the pricing for this client would stay the same, at least initially, while we figure out what's going to happen here in this country,' he said. 'Then I wake up the next day, and it's like, 'Just kidding, we're not doing that,'' he said. 'I'm not even trying to really pay attention to the tariff news, because I just can't afford to let the scare tactics affect my buying decisions.' The loss of a Canadian market also has hit home for business growth. 'In Canada, they all rallied together, and it's no joke,' he said. 'They ripped all U.S. stuff out of the stores. And I was really hoping to tap into the Canadian market this year, and there's just no way. They would be, like, 'Are you serious?' 'Even though it's a product that maybe they would have wanted,' he continued. 'Now, it doesn't matter. It's personal. It's not personal to me, but it's personal to their economy. They would not allow my product to be sold inside their store when they could support a Canadian business instead.' He noted the uncertainty on the U.S. side on how small businesses will get through the current situation stands in stark contrast with our neighbors to the north. 'When Trump did that to Canada, the Canadian government had meetings, came together, came with a plan for Canada and all of their people,' he said. 'It felt like they really rallied to come through to make sure that the Canadian businesses were going to be as strong as possible.' He's not seen the same supportive-elbows-up rally here. As he pointed out, U.S. grocers aren't exactly pulling competitors off the shelves to strengthen the positions of domestic vendors. He thinks the on-again, off-again indecision surrounding the Trump administration's handling of the tariffs is partly to blame for a lack of national rallying to support small local businesses. 'I mean, they're changing their minds daily instead of committing to something,' he said. 'But it screws with all of us,' he said. 'I have four employees, and two of them have families. And I need to make sure the show keeps going on.' Willingham said that for now, pricing would stay the same, 'and I'm trying to not let the day-to-day news impact my business decisions, and then we'll see what happens when I need to resupply.' Jennifer Luna owns The Curious Bear in Fircrest, first profiled by The News Tribune when it opened in 2018. She is also a member of the National Retail Federation and recently joined other small business owners to speak with members of Congress about tariff impacts. 'With 80% of toys manufactured in China, we're already experiencing 10–20% price increases and added tariff surcharges from our vendors,' she told The News Tribune via email. China has received the largest of what the Trump administration has called its 'reciprocal' tariffs, with a 145% tariff rate on items imported from China, which the White House said last week was actually 245% for some goods when previous tariffs are included in the rate. China has hit back with a 125% tariff on items imported from the United States and called the 245% rate a 'meaningless tariff numbers game.' Luna told The News Tribune via email that 'As current U.S. inventory levels begin to run low over the next month or two, I expect to see even steeper price hikes — and the outright unavailability of many products, which could leave our shelves empty.' She wrote that she strongly feels that 'small businesses are going to become the collateral damage of these tariffs and many will close. 'We don't have 2+ years to wait for manufacturing to move to the U.S. And it is unrealistic that toys would be at the top of the list of new manufacturing to start building,' she added. Stephanie Lollar is one of the owners of Lollar Guitars Inc., which does business as Lollar Pickups in Tacoma. The company specializes in the manufacturing of pickups for electric and steel guitars and bass, plus custom parts for a global customer base. In response to questions, Lollar told The News Tribune via email that 'We previously did quite a bit of sales to Canadians, which has been almost nonexistent the past two months.' She wrote that 'We manufacture electric guitar pickups that we sell to guitar builders, guitar players and music stores all over the world. Not only have we had several large-value customer orders put on hold because of the tariffs, but we are also facing large increases in costs.' A key issue, as she explained, is that guitar pickups are made of magnets and wire. 'Our magnets are purchased from a U.S. company that produces magnets in China,' she wrote. 'Even the one company that makes magnets in the U.S. sources their materials from China.' Her incoming order of magnets is set to have the 145% tariff applied, 'and (we) have been told we were lucky to have gotten it shipped before the Chinese government banned the sale of rare earth minerals to the U.S. That may include the magnets used to make our products. 'We are currently waiting to find out more,' Lollar added. Many of Lollar's vendors who manufacture in the U.S. buy materials from elsewhere, she noted, with China, Germany and Canada serving as three of the principal suppliers of such materials. 'We are a small company; we support 29 families,' she added. 'Between current events and the additional costs of doing business in Tacoma, it's getting tougher to provide for our employees in the way we feel a company should.'
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Iconic Tacoma candymaker hit hard by tariffs, losing China business, CEO says
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray was in Tacoma on Wednesday to highlight the effects the global tariff upheaval is having on Pierce County and Washington state trade. The CEO of Brown & Haley, as well as representatives from the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle and the nonprofit Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County, participated in a business roundtable held at the Brown & Haley factory in Tacoma. Murray, a Democrat, told attendees she was there to hear their stories about what they'd experienced. 'Watching it as a senator ... and knowing how important trade is and seeing these random (tariff) numbers is really concerning to me,' she said. 'Because I know at the end of the day, it's really a tax on families. They will end up paying it, even though businesses obviously will pay it first.' Brown & Haley CEO John Melin said the effects of on-again, off-again global tariffs and the high price now to export to China have been nothing short of damaging to his business. China is a major market for the local candymaker. The country has received the brunt of what the Trump administration has called its 'reciprocal' tariffs, with a 145% tariff rate on items imported from China, which China met with 125% tariff on items imported from the United States. 'The current simplistic approach to tariffs has been chaotic, and it's been really costly for us,' Melin said. The more-than century-old manufacturer employs 150 people and is known for its Almond Roca candy. 'We sell it across the US. We export to 35 countries in the world,' he said. 'That's a business we've nurtured carefully for over 90 years, and a business we depend on.. 'And frankly, the current tariffs, it's cost U.S. export sales, it's raised costs, and it's created supply-chain chaos.' He said, 'So far, it looks like these kind of tit-for-tat tariffs will cost us 50% of our export business.' Melin told Murray that the company is trying to find niche markets to grow domestically, but their China business has run aground. 'Our China business will simply drop to zero because they won't buy it,' he said. 'In fact, the Chinese foreign ministry has instructed people to just not purchase American products, and containers are simply being rejected at ports in China, within China, regardless of the tariff.' 'We've been growing that business since 1989. It's a big business for us,' he added. Melin said his partners in China said they have proposed manufacturing Almond Roca in China if this goes on long term. 'We're not willing to consider that,' he said. But the challenge of reintroducing a legacy brand to the market, perhaps after two years, 'it sets us back 10 years.' Demand has already dropped to the point the Tacoma factory is not running its normal number of days for this time of year, he said, and was down during Murray's visit. 'That's why we're not running today,' he noted. Michael Catsi, president & CEO, told Murray that Pierce County businesses stand to lose business to global competitors. ''Pierce County companies like SAFE Boats and SeaTac Packaging are already grappling with the consequences of an increasingly unstable trade environment,' Catsi said. 'They rely on dependable global partnerships and consistent policy to fulfill contracts and protect local employment. ... It takes time to build out new supply chains, which does not happen overnight.' He added, 'Recent shifts in U.S. foreign policy have constrained longstanding alliances, including close partners like Canada, and these relationships have deep roots and direct ties to many of our businesses and industries in Washington. 'When we alienate our allies, we risk losing not just political goodwill but also market access, supply chain, reliability and investment opportunities.' John McCarthy, Port of Tacoma Commission president and Northwest Seaport Alliance co-chair, said the port is 'starting to see a critical push of people trying to beat the tariffs. So we've got cars waiting on the dock, for example.' 'We are also starting to see people not having customers to sell,' he added. 'We are starting to hear stories of shippers wanting their cargo back.' He noted that for now, 'We don't know what the long-term effects are going to be,' but given early projections for the year, 'we just know it's very, very serious, with China comprising 50% of our import market.' Toshiko Hasegawa, Port of Seattle Commission president and Northwest Seaport Alliance co-chair, said the main effects in Seattle have been port congestion and logistical backups as market demand evaporates. 'We support efforts to increase American manufacturing and ship building and increase American jobs and economic prosperity, but if not thoughtfully crafted and implemented, the economic harm and job losses we expect the tariffs to cause will likely outweigh any potential benefits with these measures,' Hasegawa said. For the Northwest Seaport Allliance, which represents both Seattle and Tacoma ports, Hasegawa said the loss of competitive advantage to Canada is real. 'The primary thing that allows us to be able to compete in the international marketplace for market share is providing best-in-class services,' she said. The risk now is for shippers to divert cargo volumes 'away from our harbor and into our near competitor, which is Prince Rupert' in Vancouver, B.C. As she explained to Murray, 'The natural place for them to go would be north.' She noted that a team of port representatives recently went to Washington, D.C., to urge White House officials to include language in trade policy requiring all U.S.-bound cargo to clear customs at American seaports, with the seaport element an important distinction to help end financial run-arounds using Prince Rupert and then transferring to rail. Melin also noted the Canada competitive factor further raising the stakes for confectioners such as Brown & Haley. 'Our multinational competitors, the Italians, the Swiss, they simply move their supply to Canada, from the U.S. factory to a European factory,' he said. He also ticked off assorted issues with his company's supply chain as a result of higher prices: 'Cocoa beans and palm oil and cashews don't grow in the U.S.' he said. 'Thankfully, almonds do. That's important for Almond Roca.' As for imported ingredients, 'Unpredictable tariffs on ingredients means unpredictable prices,' Melin said. 'We need stability, we need common sense, and we need some nuance in the country's tariff strategy.' 'I think you've heard pretty clearly the impacts of this,' Catsi told Murray. 'Businesses need certainty when tariff policies are imposed, extended or lifted. Without a clear road map that creates instability, and that uncertainty doesn't sit just on a balance sheet. It actually hits the factory floor.' Wednesday's business roundtable was one of two Tacoma events Murray's team and local officials organized to highlight federal funding and tariff impacts. Later Wednesday, the senator toured Clover Park Technical College in Lakewood and met with students, educators and workforce readiness partners to learn more about how the college utilizes federal funding streams to support their students. In the Spotlight is a News Tribune series that digs into the high-profile local issues that readers care most about. Story idea? Email newstips@
