KSHB 41 reporter Grant Stephens covers downtown Kansas City, Missouri. He also focuses on stories of consumer interest. Share your story idea with Grant.
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Last week marked one year since President Trump's "Liberation Day," the launch of his sweeping tariff policy. The tariffs have impacted many people across the Kansas City metro, particularly local businesses.
Covering consumer news, I've heard lots of businesses tell me they have been eating tariff costs. But a year in, some say they can't avoid it anymore — they have to raise prices.
Emily Bordner owns EB & Co., selling custom and handmade jewelry and accessories across the metro. Because a lot of the products are made overseas, the business has faced hefty tariffs.
"I didn't feel the tariffs too much of an impact for the first six months. And in the last six months, I've felt it a lot," Bordner said." And within the last three months, I've really felt it, and I've had to really reevaluate manufacturing those pieces. Our beaded straps, that went up 25%. Our scalloped beaded straps, that went up 30%. And everything's gone up by a couple dollars. But we really tried to eat that cost as long as we could."
Now, a year later, she can no longer absorb those increases. Some pieces have been raised by only one or two dollars, but handmade straps now cost her 100% more.
"We were losing money every time we sold one," Bordner said.
With no off-ramp in sight, Bordner is bracing for months more of increased costs for buying and selling. The only way around the costs is placing larger orders or fewer orders, both of which make it tough to keep up with trends.
"I think everybody's felt it in some capacity, but I think it's totally different for business owners because we're the ones that are investing in the product, and so we're taking a chance every time we pick something out for you," Bordner said.m"I hate it. And I'm like, I want to be known for that approachability and that price point. And so ... I hate doing that with people."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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