U.S. entrepreneurs are feeling the impact of Donald Trump's new tariff policies. Business owner Camden Hague had planned to import wine from boutique Chinese vineyards to the tables of U.S. consumers, but steep tariffs have threatened to upend her dream.
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00:00After spotting a gap in the market for Chinese wines, entrepreneur Camden Haug decided to
00:07import bottles from boutique vineyards to the U.S.
00:10But just before her business officially launched, U.S. President Donald Trump's fresh tariffs
00:15on China have threatened to upend the venture.
00:19Trump slapped Beijing with an additional 34 percent tariff, bringing the overall rate
00:23to 74 percent.
00:25China going up to 74 percent is something that is so catastrophic for my brand new business
00:33that I think I might just have to see, wait and see.
00:38I think it's absolutely slowed my ability to order new pallets to come in.
00:43Haug spent 10 years in Shanghai, founding popular restaurants, when she noticed the
00:48increasing popularity of Chinese wines.
00:55Trump claims the tariffs will encourage U.S. consumers to buy more American-made goods
01:02and boost manufacturing, in turn supporting more domestic jobs.
01:07But Haug says it's had the opposite effect for her, preventing her from living what she
01:11calls the American dream, due to the heavy costs of the new import duties.
01:16I can't think of a more ridiculous story that kind of flies in the face of what is seeming
01:21to be done by allowing these trade wars to happen.
01:25So you're not just keeping trade in your own country.
01:28I think that the illusion of creating more American jobs here by hampering the ability
01:34of us to do business, it's just that, it's an illusion.
01:38Financial experts have warned Trump's measures will lead to price increases in the U.S.,
01:43something Haug says domestic consumers may not be able to handle.
01:47I've already been so shocked by the cost of living in America, even over one or two weeks,
01:53that if this leads to a recession and people don't have the ability to pay for everyday
01:58goods, let alone little luxuries like wine, or perhaps people like me, we consider wine
02:03an everyday good, I think that that's going to be very, very tough for Americans.
02:08China is hit back at the U.S. with a raft of countermeasures, deepening the trade war
02:12between the world's two biggest economies.
02:15And as many other countries follow suit, U.S. importers and consumers alike are feeling
02:20the pain of this decision in their wallets.
02:23Yixin Pan and Rosie Greninger for Taiwan Plus.