Support Tariff Relief for Small Businesses

On April 30, 2025, the US Chamber of Commerce proposed a “tariff exclusion process” which the federal government should adopt immediately in order to save America's small businesses and stave off a recession while bilateral trade deals are being negotiated. Specifically, this “tariff exclusion process” should: 

1. Provide an automatic exclusion from the new tariffs for any small business importer. Small businesses do not have the margin or capital reserves to sustain the increased tariffs, nor do they have the ability to quickly modify supply chains.  

2. Provide automatic exclusions for all products that cannot be produced in the U.S. or are not readily available from domestic sources. Tariffs on coffee, bananas, cocoa, certain minerals and
other products not generally available in the U.S. only raise prices for small businesses and consumers. The same applies to tariffs on many other bespoke industrial inputs critical to American manufacturers.  

3. Establish a process for businesses to expeditiously obtain exclusions in situations where the company can demonstrate that, as applied, the tariff imposes significant risks to U.S. employment. More than 40 million American jobs depend on trade. Protecting these jobs and multiplying them is imperative to drive greater economic growth and American prosperity.