Tri-State businesses celebrate Supreme Court tariff ruling

Easter candy from the UK is hitting the shelves at The Hamlet, a store in Mt. Kisco for all things British – from food to football merch, even the vinyl records. It is all imported and all subject to tariffs, which is why owner Drew Hodgson reacted the way he did to Friday’s Supreme Court ruling.

“A sigh of relief. Honestly, although a little bit of trepidation, what does it really mean?” Hodgson said.

The Trump Administration’s tariffs and falling value of the dollar have sharply impacted Hodgson’s bottom line. The extra ten percent fee is labeled in black and white on invoices for merchandise he imports directly or built into the increased prices when buying from U.S.-based suppliers. He has also had to pass the cost along to his customers.

“We took a scalpel to it, so where can we do it? Where can we not do it? We didn’t pass all of it on, we tried to just do what we could. We lowered our own margins to where we felt we could get away with it, with the hope that if they get removed and when they get removed we can lower the prices back down again,” said Hodgson.

It is a similar situation at Pelham Lumber, a family-run business that has been operating for 60 years. Nearly half of the supply is from elsewhere. Owner Mike Giordano says it wasn’t long after President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on Liberation Day thar his costs jumped.

“At first it was nothing and then all of sudden it was 20-25 percent tariffs on top of everything, so everything went up 20-25 percent,” said Giordano.

The court decision makes no mention about how the fees that have been paid might be recouped and the president is vowing to find alternate ways to keep them in effect. All of which leaves business owners with a lot of questions.

Michael Lewis founded his sports and entertainment memorabilia company FOCO a few decades ago – his products mainly imported from China.

He employs about 500 workers, so tariffs are high on his watch list. He praises the high court’s ruling, but says it is just the beginning of a battle.

“This is going to be a war. This…is the greatest news ever,” said Lewis.

The Little India section of Edison was mentioned during Governor Mikie Sherril’s inauguration. The Patel Brothers Grocers, for instance told Eyewitness News the absorbed some tariff costs instead of passing higher prices on to their shoppers. The New Jersey Business and Industry Association is saying businesses in general were adversely affected.

“49 percent said their supply chain was impacted by tariffs. 88 percent said they had a price increase as a result of tariffs,” said Michele Siekerka, President and CEO of the New Jersey Business and Industry Association (NJBIA).

Lewis says the bottom line is affordability – the tariffs will be felt at the kitchen table by the masses until they are removed.

“I don’t know how the people on the bottom haff of the spectrum in our society are surviving right now, I just don’t know,” says Lewis.