Border retailers brace for economic hardships from new tariffs

McALLEN, Texas (Border Report) -- Milly Chirino owns 3 retail shops successful the downtown concern territory of this borderline town.

She sells shoes, handbags, apparel and different wares and she says astir of her items are imported from China and volition beryllium taxable to caller tariffs.

President Donald Trump connected Tuesday implemented 25% tariffs connected imports from Mexico and Canada, and 10% tariffs connected goods from China.

Shoes, handbags and different items are sold astatine Millys successful downtown McAllen, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report Photos)

"It is going to impact arsenic acold arsenic the pricing," Chirino told Border Report connected Tuesday.

But she besides enactment an optimistic rotation connected the tariffs, saying that consumers who bargain from retailers, similar her, who bargain successful bulk, volition consciousness little economical effects from the tariffs, alternatively than those who bargain straight from companies wrong those countries.

"Maybe they volition commencement buying much local," she said.

Suresh Mansinghani, aka "The Perfume King," has operated his perfume store present for 42 years.

He says helium has capable stockpiled supplies that helium won't request to bid from China oregon Mexico for a mates of months, and that means his customers won't spot immoderate terms increases for a while.

Downtown shops enactment the streets successful the borderline municipality of McAllen, Texas. (Sandra Sanchez/Border Report)

He is 1 of 13 perfume shops connected a azygous artifact successful this downtown buying territory that is conscionable northbound of the Rio Grande and the bluish Mexican metropolis of Reynosa.

He says astir of his competitors besides stockpile their goods, arsenic bash his suppliers, and helium isn't worried, astatine slightest for now.

"I don't deliberation it's going to impact it, due to the fact that it's going to instrumentality clip for each the caller merchandise to travel in, and it usually takes betwixt 30 to 60 days, truthful I don't expect immoderate terms increases astatine all. In fact, I'm dropping my prices conscionable to entice customers to bargain more," Mansinghani said.

He says successful his decades successful the perfume business, helium has weathered pugnacious times. And helium doesn't spot this arsenic 1 to fret.

"What the section radical request to cognize is that don't overreact. This is conscionable a strategy that the politicians do, and we don't person immoderate power astatine all. We conscionable got to spell with the flow," helium said.

Several of his employees person worked for him for implicit 30 years. He says helium had a unit gathering Tuesday greeting and told them not to worry.

He said concern was brisk and kept coming Tuesday, contempt the news. He says his retail income truthful acold this twelvemonth are up 3% implicit past twelvemonth "and I had a fantastic twelvemonth past year," helium said.

Mansinghani says helium supports the tariffs due to the fact that helium doesn't judge it is close that immoderate countries spot tariffs connected U.S. goods, but the United States does not enactment tariffs connected their goods.

"I deliberation everything's going to beryllium fine," helium said.

But shopper Mari Gonzalez, of Edcouch, Texas, says she can't spend to wage more.

She says ostentation already is excessively precocious and she believes the tariffs are bad.

"It’s precise atrocious due to the fact that close present the system is precise down," she said successful Spanish.

Several different shoppers who spoke to Border Report besides felt the tariffs were not going to assistance the economy, but alternatively wounded it. However, galore did not privation to springiness their names.

"This is going to beryllium precise hard. It's going to beryllium precise hard for us," Gonzalez said.

Sandra Sanchez tin beryllium reached astatine SSanchez@BorderReport.com.