On February 27, 2026, Congressman George Latimer hosted a small business roundtable on tariffs at the Westchester County Center. A seven-member panel of small business owners and policy experts shared firsthand accounts of the financial, personal, and community toll of rapidly shifting trade policy.

TAP CEO Jane Veron was among the panelists. She came with data.

A TAP survey found that 70% of respondents were already feeling the pain of tariffs — while another 20% expected to within the next couple of months. When asked to describe their feelings about tariff policy in their own words, small business owners offered: "terrified, unsure, confused, nervous, angry, mystified, devastated."

But the word that stood out most, Veron noted, was "uncertain."

What Small Business Owners Are Experiencing

Ellen Sledge, founder of Penny Lick ice cream stores in Hastings-on-Hudson, put the cost impact in concrete terms. In November 2024, she paid $90 for 11 pounds of dark chocolate. By May 2025, that same quantity cost $220. "How much can I charge for that ice cream cone?" she asked.

Peter Herrero Jr., CEO of The Hospitality Group in White Plains, described the compounding effect: "It feels like we're on the front line. I don't think people realize what's going on." The damage, he warned, isn't just rising costs — it's the uncertainty that makes planning nearly impossible.

Jessica Galen of Bloomy cheese shop in Dobbs Ferry warned that her small artisanal suppliers, already operating on thin margins, would simply drop out of the market if tariff relief didn't come — and once gone, they wouldn't come back.

The Path to Relief Is Long and Unclear

Raymond Brescia, Associate Dean of Albany Law School, estimated that roughly $175 billion in tariffs have been collected illegally — but the legal process to recover those funds through the court of international trade would likely take five years. "Most small businesses don't have years," Sledge responded.

TAP's Response

TAP continues to provide free one-on-one consulting to help small business owners assess their tariff exposure, review pricing strategy, and build contingency plans for ongoing trade uncertainty. If your business is being affected by tariffs, TAP's expert volunteer consultants are ready to help — at no cost.

Apply for free TAP consulting today.

Read the full Hudson Independent article by Barrett Seaman.