Small businesses are the United States’ economic engine, generating more than half of the country’s new jobs in the past 5 years. But President Donald Trump’s tariffs are about to slam them with a devastating tax increase—one that big corporations can more easily dodge thanks to armies of lawyers and compliance officers.

The Chamber of Commerce estimates that there are about 236,000 small business importers—companies with fewer than 500 employees—that collectively brought in more than $868 billion worth of goods from abroad in 2023. It also calculated that Trump’s tariffs, which took effect Aug. 7, will cost those companies $202 billion annually.

That’s an average hit of $856,000 per firm, per year.

For many of these businesses, the financial pain is only part of the story. New customs

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