U.S. small businesses are being squeezed by high costs and uncertain policies, with multiple owners reporting that they are struggling under surging import prices, rising healthcare and wage expenses, difficulties in financing, and labor shortages caused by immigration enforcement. A metal manufacturer in Massachusetts laid off a quarter of its staff after sudden tariff increases under the Trump administration. Other companies cannot expand due to loan interest rates often exceeding 10%, while employees are distracted by soaring living costs. Despite being the cornerstone of the U.S. economy, small businesses find it hardest to bear the dual pressures of tariff shocks and rising capital costs. In California and Florida, some business owners say health insurance premiums have become a greater burden than their competitors, while Trump raised average tariffs to the highest level since 1935, causing some companies to move assembly operations to Mexico or raise prices at the risk of declining demand. Another owner said that the U.S. is not making foreign countries bear the tariffs, but rather American businesses absorbing the costs. Meanwhile, tightened immigration enforcement has led to a significant reduction in the construction industry's workforce, increasing project costs by as much as 40%.
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Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849200021602569/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.