US Chinatowns from Honolulu and San Francisco to Las Vegas and New York are feeling the effects of the Trump Administration’s tariffs. Many business in these Chinatowns have low margins and price-sensitive customers, and cost increases have a tremendous impact. Says Karen Liu of Manhattan Chinatown’s Grand Tea and Imports:
“Almost Every business in Chinatown is an import business in someway. These tariffs threaten our ability to restock, and for many of our neighboring business owners, their ability to stay open.”
Some businesses and consumers have tried to respond by stocking up on goods before more tariffs hit, but that will not be a sustainable strategy if tariffs remain in place for some time.
How are suburban Asian ethnoburbs faring? The big Asian American grocery chains like Ranch 99 and H-Mart have in the past passed on most of the increased expenses to shoppers. These chains, while larger and possessing more buying clout than independent stores in Chinatowns, do not have the buying leverage of the biggest Asian American retailer in Asian American ethnoburbs: Costco. Costco says that it will do its best to hold prices steady despite tariffs.
(Photo Credit: Antoine Taveneaux licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.)
