DETROIT (WXYZ) — Tariffs are the talk of the town recently, with many people wondering how they are going to impact their wallets.
When it comes to essentials like clothing, we might not be feeling it now, but the future is still uncertain.
“This was all on the horizon. None of this was a surprise," said Adam Targanski, the COO of Born Detroit.
“I think that the main question is- how long will this last?” asked Rachel Lutz, the owner of The Peacock Room.
Clothing retailers are tryoing to embrace the unknown with this new round of tariffs.
“Anything can happen," Adam said. "You know with the way that things are working out right now, you have to be prepared for whatever can happen.”
A staggering 97 percent of clothing is imported into the United States every year, with China, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Cambodia and Indonesia being the biggest suppliers. All those countries have been slapped with hefty tariffs.
Drew Beardslee is the Vice President of Government Affairs for the Michigan Retailers Association. He says the frustration among many business owners is the unknown.
“The headline here is uncertainty," Drew said. “Businesses don’t know what to expect as far as what the prices are going to be for goods… and that’s a cost that’s going to get passed on to the American consumer.”
Rachel Lutz tells me that because she hand-selects the items for the store, she plans seasons in advance.
“Now we’re buying seasons ahead, our vendors are not guaranteeing prices that we’re being quoted now," Rachel said.
And while The Peacock Room also carries a lot of items made in the U.S., the prices of those pieces are still at risk.
“A lot of those companies get those raw materials from China. So we do expect price increases from them too eventually," Rachel said.
Some companies, like The Origins Clothing, are facing a different concern. Founder Pete Roberts says as a company that sources their materials only from companies on U.S. soil, they didn't expect to feel the impact of tariffs.
“Because of demand, do the suppliers drive their prices up? And we have felt this in one instance with one supplier so far. They’re increasing their prices because there’s now more demand," Pete said.
Business owners I spoke to like Adam with Born in Detroit say that while the unknown is daunting, they aren't going to get worked up over potential changes they can't control.
"As of right now, we aren’t super worried for the immediate. Obviously things can change for the future and we’ll cross that bridge when we get there, but for right now we’re pretty solid," Adam said.
“I do hope that small businesses feel confident that there’s always a market for the remarkable," Rachel said.
