RICHMOND, Va. — Gelati Celesti president Tom Rosser operates 10 ice cream shops across Central Virginia and Hampton Roads.
When it comes to tariffs, he said the uncertainty is what keeps him up at night.
“The biggest thing for us, I just want to know what's going to happen. How do we plan?” Rosser told CBS 6 inside his Scott’s Addition location.
Sarah Paxton, co-owner of LaDIFF, a longtime high-end furniture store on Richmond’s Southside, echoed those concerns.
“Tariffs have really become the chaos for our business. We have not been able to plan. We have not been able to predetermine what we want to buy, not knowing what it's going to cost by the time it leaves,” Paxton explained.
There is currently a 90-day pause on reciprocal tariffs, with the exception of China, where tariffs were raised to 145 percent.
The rest of the world is experiencing a blanket 10 percent tariff on goods imported into the United States.
The pause is scheduled to end July 9.
CBS News reports President Donald Trump has said tariffs are necessary to shore up domestic manufacturing, spur job growth, and generate revenue.
Since the start of Trump's second term in office, a number of corporations have announced plans to expand their production capabilities in the U.S.
Rosser relies on vanilla and cocoa imports from countries outside the United States, which make up about 10 percent of his company's cost of goods.
“Madagascar was slapped with a 47 percent tariff, which is immediately going to impact the cost of vanilla,” Rosser said. “Those are things that we couldn't plan for at the beginning of the year, and now with the pause and tariffs — we're not quite sure if it’s coming.”
Paxton sources furniture from across the world and spoke about how working with manufacturers in the European Union has changed.
“When we place an order out of Italy, for instance, most of our manufacturers have a six-to-12-week production time internally. If I'm placing an order today and it's not leaving until the middle of July, I have no idea now what's going to happen in 75 days,” she explained.
Some economists warn there will be product shortages as a result of tariff costs.
InUnison of Central Virginia, a collective of Richmond’s local independent businesses, recently held their State of Local 2025 presentation.
Nearly half of business owners surveyed (44.4 percent) said they have significant cost increases due to tariffs.
More than half of affected businesses source their materials or components through Chinese suppliers, even when those aren’t final goods.
As a result, those businesses are delaying investments or purchases (61.5 percent) or raising prices (61.5 percent).
Some are also rethinking their marketing, adjusting customer communications, or, in a few cases, reducing staff hours, according to a press release.
Despite the uncertainty about what will happen with tariffs next, Rosser does acknowledge customers may choose not to spend their dollars on a luxury like his ice cream. Yet he’s confident his stores will survive.
Paxton’s LaDIFF will soon celebrate its 45th anniversary, and she believes they will also be OK. But she is concerned about smaller and younger operators.
“We're happy to absorb a certain amount of [the cost], but a smaller business definitely cannot absorb nearly as much. And it's not going to our supplier either,” she stated.
Are tariffs impacting your business or shopping habits? Email your thoughts to the CBS 6 Newsroom.
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