North Carolina businesses are feeling the pressure of President Trump’s tariffs. As businesses deal with rising costs, they are passing some of those costs onto consumers, who are now seeing higher prices on everything from coffee to guitars.
While some larger businesses are able to make adjustments to work around increased costs, others cannot. The unpredictability of Trump’s tariffs is making it difficult for small businesses that rely on foreign goods to plan for the future. One type of business in particular is feeling the pressure from tariffs: instrument shops.
“It is absolutely, without question, negatively impacting our business,” said Mike Ayers, co-owner of Harry’s Guitar Shop in Raleigh.
Ayers said that as a small business, it’s important to be able to plan ahead– but the fluctuating nature of Trump’s tariffs is making it difficult.
“I need to order now what I’m going to have to sell at Christmas for the holidays,” Ayers said. “But I don’t know what those items are going to sell for, because my manufacturers don’t know, because they don’t know what tariffs are going to do. I’ve seen a starter guitar that was $199 last Christmas go up to $259.”
The country of origin plays a big part in how much each item a store sells will be affected. Ayers said that a lot of the items that Harry’s sells come from China. They also have a fair amount of inventory from Vietnam, South Korea, and Taiwan. He notes that a lot of items that are advertised as “USA-made” will still be affected by tariffs, as the parts needed to make these products come from overseas.
Carrboro’s Twin House Music says it is also affected by tariffs. Store owner Brian McGee said that the hardest part of the issue is explaining it to customers. He also says that he’s starting to see that some companies they work with can no longer absorb the extra costs.
Trump’s tariffs are impacting coffee roasters as well. Trump has levied a severe tax on products from Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer. As of Aug. 6, Trump’s tariff schedule imposes a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports, along with lower tariffs on goods from other major coffee-producing countries — 25% for Mexico, 20% for Vietnam, and 10% for Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, and Honduras.
Those distinctions are already forcing roasters to rethink their blends, substituting other origins, absorbing higher costs, or as has been the case with companies large and small, passing them on to consumers.
For example, the owner of Folgers said in a recent earnings call that the company would raise prices for the fourth time in a year. In early August, social media reports from customers began to show that the shelf price of one tub of the company’s ground coffee had nearly doubled in a month, from $13 to $20.
“Ultimately, the last person in the chain of all of this is the consumer,” said Wes Tirey, sales director of the North Carolina-based coffee importer, De La Finca.
“In order for roasters to survive the situation themselves, they have to raise their prices, and they have to pass on the cost to the consumer,” Tirey said.
The tariff conversation doesn’t stop at coffee beans. Energy costs, shipping fees, and inflation in everyday goods like milk and flavored syrups add further strain.
For now, some importers may be absorbing part of the tariff hit, especially on beans already warehoused in the U.S. Once those stocks run out, higher prices will almost certainly pass down the line. Large brands like Folgers can hedge futures and buy lower-quality beans at scale. Independent roasters can’t.
“The full impact hasn’t hit yet,” said Cabell Tice, owner of Waynesville’s Orchard Coffee.
“Tariffs are a tax on the American people. It’s not being paid by the other countries.”
