BUTTE — The announcement on March 3 from Washington that tariffs will be imposed on China, Mexico and Canada may impact local businesses on Main Street in Uptown Butte.
"This has to come from somewhere. This has to come from somewhere. The thread has to come from somewhere," says Jon Wick, the owner of 5518 and Dig City Designs. He is pointing to different components that make up his popular hats.
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"You know, we’re not making that stuff in the basement. So, once all of these pieces combine to make just something as simple as the hat, it’s a complicated process," adds Wick.
Wick's boutiques specialize in apparel, accessories, and paper products that are adorned with original designs by local artists. He is apprehensive about the impact that tariffs will have on his small business.
"I am a little bit worried of like, the death by a thousand cuts sort of phenomenon where every little piece that we carry, every little piece is—you know, pennies add up over time, over the course of a year," he says.
T-shirts and sweatshirts that sport unique artwork reflecting Butte and southwest Montana are assembled in the USA, but the material used in the products is imported and he expects the tariffs will drive up costs, but for whom?
I ask if he will foot the bill.
"Maybe. We may have to foot the bill. I think if you talk to any small business owner, like we value customers walking through our doors and we’re going to do anything that we can to make our customers want to shop local, " says Wick.
Wick says cutting costs may mean higher prices for customers or it may mean he'll have to lay off employees but it's still too soon to tell what may come.
"We’ve got to still run a business the best we can and we’re going to do what we can do, do as much as we can do, and we’re just gonna keep on keeping on."
