Billionaire hedge fund investor Bill Ackman suggested small businesses will be crippled by President Trump’s sweeping tariffs if a pause on global import taxes isn’t implemented by the administration.
“If the president doesn’t pause the effect of the tariffs soon, many small businesses will go bankrupt,” Ackman wrote Wednesday in a post on social platform X. “Medium-sized businesses will be next.”
“A 90-day pause will enable @realDonaldTrump to accomplish his objectives without destroying small businesses in the short term,” he added.
His comments come a week after Trump imposed a 10 percent baseline tariff on all foreign imports — including traditionally exempted products such as tea or coffee — as well as higher reciprocal tariffs on a handful of countries. The latest duties went into effect early Wednesday.
Ackman said he’s received emails from several start-up companies that he’s invested in with concerns about their ability to meet the margin amid the market shake up.
“Unlike many industries, there is no ‘reshoring’ solution for coffee. The U.S. simply does not grow coffee at commercial scale, and domestic tea production is virtually nonexistent,” he explained in his post online. “There is no viable domestic alternative in the short or the long term.”
The billionaire, who endorsed Trump’s 2024 presidential bid, gave a stark warning on Sunday about the risks of the president’s trade agenda, arguing it could cause the economy to collapse and hurt voters.
He doubled down on his remarks Tuesday, clarifying that he supports the use of tariffs to wage stronger trade relationships with the international partners, but suggested Trump should consider a brief intermission before imposing steeper rates.
A number of small businesses, 42 percent, have already reported increased costs as a result of the tariffs, according to a survey from the National Small Business Association. Another 30 percent said they experienced delays in shipment and fulfillment, according to Forbes.
Despite fluctuation in stock prices, anxiety from global leaders and protests from American business owners, the White House has insisted the administration will not back down on tariffs.
“We have an opportunity to change the fabric of our country,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday. “We have an opportunity to reset the table on trade.”