Donald Trump is moving forward with his trade war – somewhat. For now, he’s aggressively targeting China while giving the rest of the world a reprieve.
It’s a mess for local businesses. Owners are confused, and rightfully so. When people think of tariffs, they might picture factories or imported goods like wine from France — not their neighborhood gym. But even seemingly unrelated businesses are getting caught in the chaos.
Chris Caputo is the owner of Peak Fitness in Wilton Manors. He is struggling to keep his business open through the end of his lease in September. Tariffs on imports from China, 145% at the time of this writing, could quickly drive Peak out of business.
“I buy a product that is made in China. It’s the core of our business. There’s no manufacturer in the U.S. that makes it,” Caputo said.
His is a specialty gym that uses special workout suits that, until recently, cost around $200. Now they will be about $500. To make them in America would mean a minimum of $100,000 to go through the FDA approval process, which takes a couple of years.
The suits wear out after a few months to a year. He says that’s too much for his customers to bear.
“I’m now paying 150% in tariffs. That’s going to cost me $10,000 just on goods I have coming and need for my business this month. At $120,000 a year, there’s no way my business can survive like this.”
The shelves at Papageno’s Wine and Provisions at 12th and Federal are looking a little understocked. Not because they can’t get merchandise, but because they need to time their order to get the best price.
The shop has imported wines, candy, pastas and more from around the world. Many items are sold in only a handful of places in the U.S. They’re trying to balance keeping the customers happy and the business afloat.
Co-owner Marco Gomez said the last couple of weeks have been an unending email from vendors.
“This whole week has been like a roller coaster. Oh, hold on. There’s a 20% tariff. Oh, hold on. I guess it’s not. I couldn’t order wine this week because of that and following the vendors’ advice.”
It’s that kind of uncertainty that has local business owners staying up all night.
“It’s going to be difficult. It really depends on how long this tariff war lasts.”
Gomez believes a long, drawn-out war is an existential crisis for Papageno’s.
“We are self-funded. We do not have any investors. The struggle is real. We’re doing good but not great. I’m afraid this tariff war is going to hurt us sooner than later.”
To The Moon on Wilton Drive is a shop with an ever-changing inventory running from Golden Girls board games to Christmas ornaments hanging from the ceiling to specialty ice creams.
Owner Antonio Dumas says the store will be affected. “Oh, at least half the products, maybe more.”
Even though his costs are already starting to rise, he believes he can ride it out. “We’re trying to keep prices as low as possible, even biting some of the tariff’s cost. If it’s only a little bit, it’s not that big a deal for us.”
