The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has sent President Donald Trump’s administration a letter that calls on the White House to grant automatic exclusions for tariffs to small-business importers, as well as others that meet specific conditions.

“The Chamber requests the administration take immediate action to save America’s small businesses and stave off a recession,” the letter read.

The nationwide business advocacy association, billed as the largest lobbying group in the U.S., also is asking for a process that will allow companies to apply for a tariff exclusion if the businesses can show that the import levies will lead to job losses for American workers.

In a third prong, the Chamber is calling on the Trump administration to provide tariff exclusions for all products that cannot be produced in the U.S. or are not readily available from domestic sources.

Suzanne P. Clark, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that the organization supports many of Trump’s policy goals, including eliminating what the administration has described as unfair trade and non-trade barriers while fueling investment in America.

“At the same time,” Clark continued, “we have heard from a historic number of small businesses who have made it clear: they need immediate relief from tariffs. As each day goes by, small businesses are increasingly endangered by higher costs and interrupted supply chains that will cause irreparable harm.”

In this Promo Insiders podcast, Randy Carr talks about the impacts that tariffs have had on his business and how his company is adapting. Carr is CEO of World Emblem (asi/98264), a Counselor Top 40 promotional products supplier.

‘Can’t Afford To Wait’

U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) declined 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the same quarter last year. This marked the steepest drop since the first quarter of 2022. GDP measures the value of all goods and services produced across the economy.

Clark told CNBC that the Chamber has been “inundated by small business requests for information, for relief” regarding tariffs. Business owners are “afraid for the survival of their business,” she said.

While the Chamber sued the previous Biden administration nearly two dozen times, the lobbying group has so far opted against legal action against Trump. Clark indicated that was because courts could take too long to render a decision and immediate relief is required.

“As each day goes by, small businesses are increasingly endangered by higher costs and interrupted supply chains that will cause irreparable harm.” Suzanne P. Clark, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, on why tariff relief is needed immediately

“We applaud the administration’s efforts to negotiate as many new trade agreements as possible that expand market access for U.S. companies and benefit American workers, but these deals take time, and many businesses simply can’t afford to wait while negotiations proceed,” Clark said.

Initial indications from Washington were that the White House wasn’t, at least at this point, going to grant the requested tariff exclusions. “The relief for small businesses is going to come in the form of the largest tax cut in American history,” said Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, at a press briefing.

Republicans are reportedly working to enact a major tax cut this year, possibly by July 4, but the sailing to that goal reportedly isn’t smooth, with internal divisions among the party a concern.

A Legal Long Shot?

The Trump administration is facing at least six lawsuits over the tariffs. While full adjudication of a case could take considerable time, rising as high as the Supreme Court, it’s at least possible a judge could grant a plaintiff’s request for a preliminary injunction that would prevent enforcement of tariffs cited in a suit until at least such time as the case is concluded. So far, that hasn’t happened, but injunction requests remain in play.

The lawsuits include ones filed by the State of California, another jointly brought by 12 other states, and federal complaints from legal activist firms like the New Civil Liberties Alliance and Liberty Justice Center on behalf of small businesses.

-0.3%
The year-over-year decline in the United States’ first-quarter 2025 GDP.

The most recent suit is from the Pacific Legal Foundation. The nonprofit law firm filed the complaint on behalf of plaintiffs that include the board game companies Stonemaier Games, XYZ Game Labs, Rookie Mage, Spielcraft, and TinkerHouse Games, which claim the levies will devastate their businesses. 

Trump has implemented certain new tariffs under what he says is the authority given him as president by the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). However, like other lawsuits, the Pacific Legal Foundation case says IEEPA gives no such authority to Trump or any president.

“The Constitution grants Congress, not the president, the power to impose tariffs,” said Molly Nixon, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “The president cannot assume this power for himself, and Congress can’t transfer that legislative authority to him. The uncertainty many Americans are experiencing shows why the Constitution gives the power to make laws to the representative and deliberative branch of government.”

So far in 2025, Trump has implemented an additional tariff rate of 145% on imports from China, a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, levies on steel and aluminum, and 25% duties on Canadian and Mexican products that aren’t covered by the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement while temporarily pausing nation-specific “reciprocal” tariffs. The administration has indicated it’s negotiating trade deals with various countries, which could lead to lower tariff burdens, but reportedly there’s been no appreciable movement toward an agreement with China, levies upon which are the most impactful for the U.S. economy.

The tariffs have been the defining issue for the promotional products industry in 2025. The market imports most of the products it sells in the United States. Soaring tariff rates are making products more expensive, disrupting importing and prompting a scramble to adapt sourcing practices while creating marketplace uncertainty that contributed to a Q1 sales decline for promo distributors and suppliers. Some promo pros fear widespread inventory shortages lie ahead in 2025 for the industry if the tariff situation fails to improve quickly. American-based importers pay the tariffs, not foreign governments or companies.