How devastating policy is impacting our trade relationships and the implications for independent businesses like ours

Live Zoom Event Thursday, November 6

12-1:30pm Eastern | 11am-12:30pm Central | 9-10:30am Pacific

As an alternative trade organization and relatively small business, sourcing most of our products from small-scale farmer cooperatives and paying them well above market prices, Equal Exchange is uniquely caught in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration’s new tariff policy.

With most of our products imported, we quickly experienced the new tariff reality and its economic impact on our business. When you import hundreds of containers per year, the cost truly does add up, be it a 50% tariff on our teas from India, 39% on our chocolate bars—manufactured in Switzerland—or 10% and 15% tariffs on bananas imported from Ecuador and Peru.

We often share mid-year and year-end updates on our financial reality with you all, but this year, there is another story to tell. How do we navigate these challenging times as a mission-driven trader whose model is to always pay more to invest in farmer cooperatives and their communities, while finishing a good year with a modest 2-5% profit? These times pose a genuine threat to our entire model.

In this session, we will share our firsthand experiences and the nuts and bolts of how tariffs work, since it understandably remains a mystery to many. Learn how these devastating policies are impacting our business and trade relationships, and the broader implications for independent businesses like ours.

We will also share how we are seeing global trade relationships shift in response to tariffs and look at who is benefiting from this policy and who is being harmed. Americans should understand how tariffs work to engage with this issue as we seek to build a more democratic trade system in these incredibly challenging and chaotic times.

Join us for a presentation and conversation to learn more and discuss!