At Sun Vin Grocery on Mulberry Street in Chinatown in New York City, a pack of rice crackers cost $4.99 last week. But this week, after President Donald Trump’s tariffs on items imported from China took effect, the same crackers have a new price: $6.99.
Chinatowns across the U.S. are feeling the effects of the escalating tariff
war, as prices of household goods imported from China, including traditional
Chinese medicine, dried noodles, and jade jewelry, have already started to
rise.
While Trump paused his tariffs on most of the world for 90 days, his
tit-for-tat trade war with China has resulted in a steep 145% tariff on Chinese
goods, and that’s hitting mostly family-owned small businesses in Chinatown
hard. Many immigrant Chinese communities rely on businesses in local Chinatowns
across the country for goods that are central to Chinese culture, for which
there are few, if any, alternatives.
“It will impact a lot,” said Jasmine Bai, the manager of Sun Vin Grocery, a
small store stocked mostly with products imported from China, including
ingredients that are rarely found in American grocery stores, like bean thread
noodles and lotus seed paste. “In the future, maybe we will have fewer clients,
and they will buy less food.”
According to New York City's Small Business Services, approximately 80% of
local businesses in Chinatown directly serve the Chinese community, and Lower
Manhattan residents of Chinatown spend $1.15 billion annually on retail goods
and services. Trump has said that he believes the United States could make a
deal with China, but maintains that Beijing has "really taken
advantage" of the U.S. for a long time.
"Every nation, including China, wants to meet!” Trump stated in a post
on Truth Social on Thursday, even though officials in Beijing have not yet
indicated whether or not they intend to meet with the White House. Chinese
import tariffs of up to 125 percent have been imposed in response. On Thursday,
China's commerce ministry urged the U.S. to stop putting "extreme
pressure" on the country and said the two sides remained at an impasse
over who should start trade talks.
SENSE OF CHAOS
That back-and-forth has injected a sense of chaos into Chinatown businesses,
said Eva Sam, the owner of Popular Jewelry in New York City, a family business
known for chains and pendants with ornate gemstones popular with hip hop
artists.
"The sudden changes and escalating tariffs make it nearly impossible to
stabilize prices or offer consistent quotes to our clients," she said.
Popular Jewelry sources its 24-karat gold as well as cut and polished jade
stones from China. The store has already had to raise prices by 10% on imported
jewelry, Sam said.
"It's very hard to make long-term and short-term decisions, because you
don't know if the tariffs are going to be permanent or where he's going to put
the tariffs, or if he's going to take them off," said William Wong, Sam's
son, who also works at Popular Jewelry.
Most Chinatown stores in New York City only have one or two months of
supplies stockpiled, according to Welcome to Chinatown, a local nonprofit aimed
at supporting businesses in the neighborhood.
Daniel Dellaratta, a pharmacist who has worked in Chinatown for 30 years,
stated that Villy KX Pharmacy does not "keep a lot of stuff" on hand.
He stated, "We are expecting to see significant increases in the majority
of the generic products within the next 90 days." Eliz Digital Inc., a
photo shop in New York City’s Chinatown, has also seen the prices of supplies,
like paper and chemicals sourced in China and used for developing photographs,
increase.
Although the store has not raised prices “for a long, long time,” the
tariffs could force their hand, said the store’s owner, who asked only to be referred
to by her last name, Kesh.
“I think eventually we might have to do something, because, as you see,
everything has gone up a lot, and our supply has definitely gone up so much,”
she said.
AMERICA’S OLDEST CHINATOWN
According to Edward Siu, chairman of the Chinatown Merchants United
Association of San Francisco, the Chinatown of San Francisco is also
experiencing uncertainty among its businesses as owners hope for productive
negotiations between the United States and China. “A lot of people don’t know what
will be next. They are so worried and frustrated right now,” said Siu, who has
been operating a travel agency in the neighborhood for 40 years.
The neighborhood, which spans 30 densely populated blocks, constitutes the
oldest Chinese American community in the United States, according to the city's
planning department.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, it has endured a number of crises, including
problems with the supply chain and the city's sluggish economic recovery.
Selena Lee, who owns Linda Boutique, a jade jewelry stores on Chinatown's
iconic Grant Avenue, said the prices on her latest delivery tripled as the
tariffs took effect. Her jewelry is made of raw jade from Myanmar, but the
finished products come from China. “If we change, we have to change the whole
format of the business, which is not easy,” she said.
Mei Zhu, who runs a small grocery store on Stockton Street, is also
concerned about running short on inventory as customers have tried to stock up
on products in anticipation of higher prices.
“There’s nothing left to sell,” Zhu said, pointing to an empty cardboard box
labeled “salt,” explaining that many customers have bought as many as ten cans
at once, even though her store does not import salt from China.
Siu urged the American and Chinese governments to consider the people
affected by their policies, such as him and other Chinese American business
owners.
He stated, "Right now, we're in the danger zone." “I don’t want
the trade war to be a war.”
