CEOs go on a media blitz to warn of the ‘existential threat’ posed by tariffs
This story was first published by WorkLife sibling Modern Retail.
Two weeks ago, Michael Wieder, the co-founder and president of baby brand Lalo, was on CNBC’s Squawk Box talking about how tariffs would impact his brand, which sells high chairs, play sets and more. Since then, he said he has had dozens of reporters reach out wanting to talk to him about tariffs.
He doesn’t have time to take all of their calls, he said, but, “I’m willing to speak to anybody, … because it’s really, really important that we help educate how and why things are made.” He said he’s also reached out to politicians on both sides of the aisle.
Most CEOs of small- to medium-sized e-commerce businesses are in a similar boat right now. They’ve spent the past two weeks going on a traditional or non-traditional media blitz, warning of potentially dire consequences: namely, that thousands of companies could go out of business if the current tariffs system — which includes 145% tariffs on most goods imported from China, 10% tariffs on all imports, 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, higher tariffs that are currently paused and the revocation of the de minimis exemption — stays in place.
CEOs are posting daily on LinkedIn, making the rounds on Bloomberg, or writing letters to their representatives in the hopes that President Donald Trump’s administration will reverse course before it’s too late.
The message many of them are trying to get out is that this new system of tariffs isn’t just inconvenient, it’s catastrophic. And, that it will hurt consumers. “We make essential products for parents, and so our job has been protecting American families,” Wieder said on CNBC, rattling off stats about how tariffs also come at a time when childcare costs are already sky high.
“This is existential for our business,” Ben Knepler, co-founder of True Places, a brand that sells outdoor, portable chairs. “I think myself and thousands of other business owners are in a similar position. … We’re in survival mode, and so we’re trying to do whatever we can to save our businesses.”
Small businesses in particular don’t necessarily have the money or experience to engage in traditional lobbying. So one of the few things they can do right now is talk to the press or tell their stories and organize through non-traditional media channels.
Allison Luvera, co-founder of Juliet Wine, used Substack to publish an open letter signed by 38 female small business founders to explain the threats tariff brings to small businesses. She told Modern Retail the hope is that the letter can get more signatures and attention to score a meeting with the White House or representatives to discuss more favorable trade policies.
“Unlike large corporations, small businesses tend to be less equipped to handle the volatility and the extra costs associated with these types of global trade wars,” she told Modern Retail. “We wanted to make sure we did something to, kind of, band together and raise our voices and raise awareness around the fact that we would be disproportionately harmed.”
Greg Shugar, who runs a neckwear business called Beau Ties of Vermont, said he’s been “sounding the alarm since December” on tariffs. He follows politics closely and knew that tariffs would be a “high priority” for President Trump’s administration, given that “he’s been talking about tariffs since the 1980s.”
So he started posting on LinkedIn, explaining first in December how the mere threat of tariffs had thrown the fashion world in a tailspin. Then, after President Trump started to issue higher and higher tariffs on China, he posted a video on LinkedIn explaining why “made in the USA” brands are still subject to tariffs. His company’s neckties and bowties are cut and assembled in America, but the silk is imported from China.
He’s done interviews with the Wall Street Journal, Retail Dive, Reuters and Modern Retail about how tariffs threaten his business. A colleague of his was also on CBS Evening News. He’s not trying to be a publicity hound, he said, but, “I just really feel like we need to get the word out everywhere.”
For many CEOs, getting the word out simply means explaining what a tariff is and why it is paid by businesses, not by foreign countries. And why small businesses don’t have the cash flow to pay a 145% tax on a product before it’s even sold. And why manufacturing can’t just be moved overnight as production orders are placed months in advance.
Many of them are also turning to social media and journalists to explain some of the intricacies involved with their specific sectors: For Knepler, that means explaining the fact that 99% of outdoor portable chairs are manufactured in China, and it took his company years to move manufacturing to Cambodia – whose imports are now also subjected to a 10% tariff.
For Wieder, that means explaining that for Lalo, it’s not just an issue for cost, but the fact that “there’s a supply chain that’s been built up for decades and decades to create the highest quality, safest products for families, and that exists, really, in one place”: China.
For example, around 97% of the strollers that the U.S. imports come from China. To rashly move manufacturing and work with a partner that’s starting from scratch and doesn’t have decades of experience in manufacturing baby products, “could also risk the reliability and quality of products,” Wieder said.
For CEOs, talking to media or posting on LinkedIn doesn’t take up that much time. The bigger issue, Shugar said, is that now the issue of tariffs keeps him up at night.
“The uncertainty is just damaging to small businesses, and it just feels like it’s been completely ignored by our government,” Shugar said. His fear is that consumer awareness of tariffs, and coverage from places other than business media outlets, will really only start picking up when “layoffs actually happen, or prices truly go up.”
“There are just so many things that are gonna fall down as a result of this tariff decision,” he said.
Melissa Daniels contributed reporting