Reciprocal tariffs put into place by President Donald Trump have had a marked effect on businesses in the Fort Myers area.
The application of a 10% tariff on all imports, such as aluminum and steel, has increased operational costs across the region. Estero staple FK Your Diet, a breakfast and lunch restaurant, and Affinity Aluminum, an outdoors enclosure business, said they have been affected by this recent action.
Chef and owner Doug Miller manages three FK Your Diet locations and around 20 employees. He donates proceeds to provide school supplies and meals for foster children, and the amount he is able to donate has dwindled as the prices for imports like to-go containers, utensils, and equipment grow.
“The tariffs will have a negative impact on our business,” Miller said. “Is that fair? Is that the right thing? I don’t know, I don’t get paid to know. I’m not that smart, but I am smart enough to know that I used to pay a nickel. Now I pay a dime, and that affects my business. That means I will be able to do less to support the community.”
Similarly, 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum have been driving up prices for construction companies. Businesses like Affinity Aluminum rely on aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico, and Japan.
Much of owner Rachel Schoof’s business comes from repairing hurricane damage, seeing large amounts of growth since it began operating in 2022. This growth appears to be leveling off with numbers lower than expected following Hurricane Milton. Because it is a labor-intensive business, it is difficult to cut expenses beyond recycling materials to balance rising supply costs.
“I have seen a lot of price increase letters come across from our suppliers that are stating it could be up to a 25% price increase going forward,” Schoof said. “We are going to have to pass on some of these prices to the consumer, but in order to stay competitive we’re going to have to probably eat a little bit of it, too, and just do more quantity of jobs.”
Some consumers in Lee County have also felt the effects of price increases. A majority of consumers questioned in the San Carlos Park area noted higher grocery and gas prices. Some did not feel adequately informed on how tariffs affect the local community, but believed that they did not appear to be improving the economy. Other consumers said they believe that tariffs will be beneficial for American businesses in the near future.
“It’s increasing in groceries especially. People are going to stop buying as much and have to get second jobs,” Valerie Bonatello said.
“I don’t follow the news, but my groceries bills are higher for sure,” Natalie Rodriguez said.
Neil Bradley, chief policy officer for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spoke on the effect of tariffs on small businesses during a recent event for Small Business Month.
Tariffs are a tool used to prevent unfair trading practices between foreign countries and benefit American manufacturers by leveling the playing field when companies sell goods below cost. These policies benefit America-based companies with the reserves to absorb the increased costs of tariffs, but often smaller businesses do not have that ability.
“There are about 235,000 small businesses who are themselves importers every year,” Bradley said. “And they import a third of the total value of all the things that America imports. So if you take that one third and you apply the 10%, 25%, 145% to it, that works out to a tax bill that is $9,000 a second every minute of every hour of every day for a full year.”
Companies are raising prices to account for changing supply costs, sending shock waves to the everyday consumer’s budget.
“Everything is expensive now, even at Costco,” Sandy Dunning of Fort Myers said.
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