Businesses in San Francisco's Chinatown are bracing for the impacts of the US-China trade war. Several businesses tell us they are stashing away supplies they expect to be impacted.
This comes as China raised its retaliatory tariffs on US imports to 125% on Friday. Thursday, the Trump Administration clarified that US duties on China are now 145%, including earlier levies.
Several businesses in San Francisco's Chinatown tell NBC Bay Area they feel caught in the middle of this trade war.
The restaurant House of Dim Sum on Jackson Street has its entire basement, attic, and every available closet space filled with boxes of supplies they've recently ordered. Abby Huang, whose family owns the restaurant, explained they began trying to stock up on needed supplies- particularly those from China- when the Trump Administration began talking about tariffs.
The restaurant gets its cutlery, red bean paste, bags, and food containers from China. Huang said the containers are essential because they go through hundreds each day, and without the containers, they can't provide food to-go. Those food containers are all imported from China, she said.
"So if you don’t have it, it's going to be big trouble," Huang explained.
She said other businesses must have had the same idea because her suppliers are running low. One of her recent orders for food containers came back half-filled because the supplier said their inventory was depleted. Huang said other suppliers are instructing her to place orders for the lowest possible amount of items, and they will try to fill what they can. She noted that in Chinatown, space comes at a premium, and her business rents out extra space to store everything they need.
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Nearby at the Golden Gate Fortune Cookie Factory on Ross Alley, owner Kevin Chan has been ordering brown paper bags in bulk to substitute for the imported Chinese bags they typically use. Chan thinks that because shipping between the US and China takes weeks, even if the current trade war ends, businesses will feel the aftereffects for a while.
"I do stock up some boxes, you know, the packaging boxes," Chan explained.
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Gate Fortune Cookie Factory has been in the city since 1962. Chan said that while all their cookies are made here, the bags they use to package and deliver them are made in China, where prices are cheaper.
The trade policy changes this week also have Chan concerned about the potential impacts on sesame seeds, which his business uses to make the cookies.
"Everyone gets scared, and they just jack up the price," he said.
Chan noted that these tariffs are an added blow for small businesses, who are still trying to bounce back from the pandemic and are now contending with egg shortages. Eggs are a key ingredient in the fortune cookies at Chan's business. He said that while egg prices aren't quite as high as they were earlier this year, he's still paying twice the amount he used to for a case of eggs.
Chan said of the tariffs, "This is one of the things that I am concerned about a lot."
Chan printed out a fortune to place in a fortune cookie, expressing what he would like the leaders of both the US and China to know.
"Both countries should work together and build a better world," Chan said.
Nearby, another shop said it expects its sauces and food products from China to go up in price. The store told NBC Bay Area that some customers were panic-buying food made in China on Friday morning.
"The cost of food is going up, up, up," Huang noted.
She noted that food prices can only be raised so much; she fears that if they raise prices too high, they will drive away consumers.
"And you can't change your menu all the time," she noted.
These small businesses are stretching to make ends meet.
Huang said navigating this uncertainty has been tiring. She is fearful that this tumultuous business landscape may become the new normal.
