CHINA/TARIFFS/TRADE WAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “Shane Cusick started his small business, Pello, in 2014 with the goal of making lightweight bikes for children. His experience over the past year is a case study in how a trade war can disrupt a fledgling enterprise. Pello, in Richmond, Va., has met with early success, selling 400 to 500 bright orange two-wheelers a year. The company designs its bikes in the United States but imports them from China because domestic factories are not equipped to churn out tiny bike frames en masse…But President Trump’s trade war with China has started to change the equation. Pello paid 10 percent in extra tariffs on its last batch of imports, a byproduct of Mr. Trump’s decision to impose a tax on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods. The president has now increased that to 25 percent, and Pello expects its next shipment will be hit with that heftier tariff. Mr. Cusick and his business partner have so far been reluctant to charge more for their bikes, which cost $200 to $600, over worries that customers would opt for cheaper products.”
–Jeanna Smialek, “This Boutique Bike Shop Shows How Trump’s Tariffs Can Hit the Little Guy,” The New York Times online, May 29, 2019