SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler tossed out what sounded like a version of a Trump “sir” story when it comes to what these destructive Trump tariffs are doing to small businesses and our economy.
Never mind that small businesses are the ones being harmed the most and the least able to absorb the costs being imposed on them from the tariffs, Loeffler wants us to believe she’s got small business owners coming to her in droves telling her how much they love them.
Loeffler made an appearance on this Friday’s Mornings with Maria on Fox Business Network, and here’s the back and forth when she was asked by guest host Jackie DeAngelis about the group of small businesses that are suing the Trump administration over the tariffs:
DEANGELIS: Meantime, a group of 5 small businesses suing the Trump administration over tariffs. They’re arguing, that the tariffs are illegal under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
If tariffs are implemented at the original level that was suspected, which they most likely won’t be, I could see how small businesses would say you’re gonna hurt me.
But at the end of the day, if tariffs end up being a negotiation strategy to get these countries to come to the table, and president Trump then negotiates them down and gets us better terms, then this lawsuit would be moot, right?
LOEFFLER: That’s right, Jackie.
75 countries at the table at least already, but what I’m hearing from small businesses is they want that level playing field.
They know that this is a short term situation that is going to be replaced by a much brighter long term, whether I’ve been in small businesses that are hardware stores, or small manufacturers, they are excited about made in America.
They understand the emergency we were under because we no longer made our own ships, our defense products, medical devices, things like that that are life or death that we need to make sure we’re investing in all of that… and that’s what’s happening right here in New York and across this country and what I’m excited to see is the energy behind it.
We’re working to bring the skilled workforce to bear because there’s so many needs in manufacturing.
Manufacturing has really become an extension of technology. We need more of that in this country. It’s really exciting when you think about.
Reporters at The New York Times would beg to differ with Loeffler’s assessment: ‘Things Have Ground to a Halt’: Tariff Uncertainty Paralyzes Businesses:
The Times heard from hundreds of American companies, most of them small businesses, that face a reckoning because of President Trump’s steep import taxes.
Three months ago, things were looking pretty good for Tim Fulton and Ramper Innovations, a manufacturer of airplane equipment based in Sitka, Alaska.
Mr. Fulton was spending his days inside his workshop doing what he loved: building the company’s main product — a fold-up conveyor belt that unfurls in the belly of a plane to load and unload cargo or luggage. He had an order from the U.S. Air Force that he was confident would serve as a catalyst and bring in new customers from Asia and the Middle East while luring potential investors.
Then, the tariffs from President Trump struck.
The New York Times heard from Mr. Fulton and hundreds of other American business owners who said they have been stunned into paralysis by Mr. Trump’s barrage of tariffs. They are reassessing their product lines and supply chains and even putting their operations on hold.
Read on…
