Letter to Amb. Jamieson Greer, Hon. Scott Bessent, Hon. Howard Lutnick, Hon. Kelly Loeffler (April 16, 2025)
Summary
A letter dated April 16, 2025 to Jamieson Greer, Scott Bessent, Howard Lutnick and Kelly Loeffler, addressed as Ambassador Greer, Secretary Bessent, Secretary Lutnick and Administrator Loeffler, concerns the imposition of tariffs on imported goods, their suspension and increases. It states that tariffs were raised to their highest effective rates in over 100 years and names the 145 percent duties on China and the remaining 10 percent tariffs on all imports as especially concerning. It says that 88 percent of small firms rely on imports for the goods they produce and sell. The letter requests that the recipients engage with small businesses, analyze the effect of their trade policies and provide resources. The signature block names Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez, Vice Ranking Member Morgan McGarvey and other Members of Congress.
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“Letter to Amb. Jamieson Greer, Hon. Scott Bessent, Hon. Howard Lutnick, Hon. Kelly Loeffler (April 16, 2025).”
Original at democrats-smallbusiness.house.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/4987-2025-04-16-ranking-member-velazquez-letter-to-trump-admin-to-att0-2e5d858444/
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April 16, 2025
Amb. Jamieson Greer Hon. Scott Bessent
U.S. Trade Representative Secretary
Office of the U.S. Trade Representative U.S. Department of the Treasury
600 17th Street, NW 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20006 Washington, DC 20220
Hon. Howard Lutnick Hon. Kelly Loeffler
Secretary Administrator
U.S. Department of Commerce U.S. Small Business Administration
1401 Constitution Avenue, NW 409 3rd Street, SW
Washington, DC 20230 Washington, DC 20416
Ambassador Greer, Secretary Bessent, Secretary Lutnick, and Administrator Loeffler:
We write regarding your imposition of widespread, indiscriminate taxes on goods imported from
abroad, followed by your suspension of some of those taxes by social media post and daily
increases of others. Tariffs were raised to their highest effective rates in over 100 years, 1
including on critical allies such as the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and Australia. 2
Small businesses across nearly every industry will be harmed by the tariffs and the uncertainty
surrounding their 90-day pause. Especially concerning are the 145 percent duties on China, the
successive daily tax hikes on Chinese imports, the remaining 10 percent tariffs still in place for
all imports regardless of origin, and the specific duties in place on items such as aluminum and
steel.
Contrary to your beliefs, American importers pay these taxes, and consumers ultimately shoulder
the burden. Taxes on imported goods hit small businesses the hardest, with 88 percent of small
firms relying on imports for the goods they produce and sell. 3 These companies operate on
thinner margins and do not have the sophisticated supply chain management staff that larger
firms do, putting them at a competitive disadvantage. Small firms also lack leverage in
negotiating more favorable terms when they attempt to shift supply chains. The result will spike
consumer and input prices across the board, reducing their affordability for everyday Americans
and the Main Street businesses they support in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis.
1
Jesse Pound, U.S. tariff rates under Trump will be higher than the Smoot-Hawley levels from Great Depression
era, CNBC (Apr. 3, 2025), https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/03/us-tariff-rates-under-trump-will-be-higher-than-the-
smoot-hawley-levels-from-great-depression-era.html.
2
Jeanna Smialek, et al., With Trump’s Tariffs, the Chasm Between Allies and the U.S. Widens, N.Y. TIMES (Apr. 2,
2025), https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/world/europe/trump-tariffs-reciprocal-reaction-trade-war.html.
3
FEDEX, FEDEX SMALL BUSINESS TRADE INDEX, 16 (Mar. 2024).
1
Current trade policy overlooks the very fact that not every ingredient, crop, or product can be
produced domestically. While our nation is one of the world’s top exporters of agricultural and
food products, with volumes even reaching $196 billion under the previous administration, 4
crops like coffee,5 tea,6 cocoa,7 spices8 like natural vanilla,9 and tropical fruit such as bananas10
and mangoes,11 are nearly impossible to produce at scale within the United States in the
foreseeable future. Many of our nation’s small businesses depend on imported agricultural
products to power their payrolls, innovation, and productivity. From Main Street cafes and
restaurants, to shippers, truckers, and grocers, millions of businesses rely on and derive
significant revenues from import sales. Even America’s own farmers sometimes use spent
products in their compost to fertilize crops. Americans cannot shift en masse to domestic
alternatives, because for many goods, no large sources exist in the United States.
Additionally, the suddenness of these tariffs, as well as their suspension and increases, ignores
how most businesses – no matter their size – operate. Businesses make purchases that take weeks
to arrive, meaning that goods that recently left their countries of origin by cargo ship – and are
still on the way to America – have had taxes imposed, raised, and paused at least 5 times thus far.
When those cargo ships arrive on our shores, it is entirely possible that, on the wrong day, an
entrepreneur will have to pay tens of thousands of dollars extra for goods they purchased a
month ago – a death sentence for their business. Entrepreneurs, and the customers who buy from
them, cannot reasonably anticipate how products will be priced next month, next week, or even
tomorrow.
The uncertainty and chaos emanating from these choices, and their timing, create undue anxiety
for small employers, workers, and customers alike in nearly every industry. When consumers
tighten their belts, small businesses will be the first to experience a decrease in demand, as they
shift their spending to larger discount retailers. Main Street America cannot afford yet another
recession under President Trump’s watch.
In sum, small employers and entrepreneurs, who are the backbone of our economy, cannot
operate in such a volatile and unpredictable economic climate. This fear and uncertainty are
4
CONG. RESEARCH SERV., USDA'S FOREIGN AGRICULTURAL SERVICE: AN OVERVIEW (Nov. 16, 2023).
5
NAT’L COFFEE ASSOC., Coffee regions of the world, https://www.aboutcoffee.org/origins/coffee-regions-of-the-
world (last visited Apr. 4, 2025).
6
UNIV. OF HAW. AT MANOA, A MARKET FEASIBILITY STUDY EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: HAWAI’I-GROWN TEA (2011),
https://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/tea_2011.pdf; John C. D’Auria et al., United States Tea: A Synopsis
of Ongoing Tea Research and Solutions to United States Tea Production Issues, 13 FRONT. PLANT SCI. 934651
(2022), https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2022.934651/full.
7
NAT’L OCEANIC & ATMOSPHERIC ADMIN., Climate & Chocolate, U.S. DEP’T OF COM. (Feb. 10, 2016),
https://www.climate.gov/news-features/climate-and/climate-chocolate (on file with the H. COMM. ON SMALL BUS.).
8
AM. SPICE TRADE ASSOC., Comment Letter on Unfair Trade Practices (Mar. 11, 2025), https://astaspice.org/safe-
view/982280.
9
Shelby Vittek, A Domestic Vanilla Industry Is Slowly Unfurling in Florida, AMBROOK RESEARCH (Apr. 12, 2023),
https://ambrook.com/research/supply-chain/domestic-vanilla-bean-florida-madagascar; NAT’L INST. OF FOOD &
AGRIC., Vanilla Could Be the Next Big Crop for Small Farmers in Southern Florida, U.S. DEP’T OF AGRIC. (Oct.
16, 2023), https://www.nifa.usda.gov/about-nifa/blogs/vanilla-could-be-next-big-crop-small-farmers-southern-
florida.
10
All About Bananas And Why Bananas Matter, BANANALINK https://www.bananalink.org.uk/all-about-bananas
(last visited Apr. 8, 2025).
11
The Amazing Mango Tree, NAT’L MANGO BD., https://www.mango.org/mango-tree (last visited Apr. 8, 2025).
2
illustrated by a recent National Federation of Independent Business survey finding that small
business uncertainty spiked to the second-highest level since 1973. 12 The disastrous effects of
this Administration’s tariff policy will force the closure of these small businesses and the loss of
the jobs and livelihoods they sustain.
We strongly urge you to rethink your trade war – and the recession it is causing – and to make
good on your campaign promises to lower prices for Americans. Furthermore, we respectfully
request that you:
1) Engage with small businesses and their stakeholders.
2) Analyze the effect your trade policies have had on our nation’s small businesses and
entrepreneurs, including small farmers and producers.
3) Consider how the current uncertainty around tariff policy negatively impacts how small
businesses operate.
4) Take action to protect the interest of small employers, producers, farmers, and
entrepreneurs.
5) Collaborate to provide resources for small businesses that can assist them in
understanding and navigating your trade policies.
Pursuant to Rule X of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Small Business
(Committee) has broad authority to investigate “problems of all types of small business.” The
Committee possesses jurisdiction over “assistance to and protection of small businesses.” If you
have any questions, please contact the Committee’s Minority staff at (202) 225-4038.
Sincerely,
Nydia M. Velázquez Morgan McGarvey
Ranking Member Vice Ranking Member
Committee on Small Business Committee on Small Business
Hillary J. Scholten LaMonica McIver
Member of Congress Member of Congress
12
NAT’L FEDERATION OF INDEP. BUS., SMALL BUSINESS ECONOMIC TRENDS, 1 (Feb. 2025).
3
Gilbert Ray Cisneros, Jr. Kelly Morrison
Member of Congress Member of Congress
George Latimer Derek T. Tran
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Lateefah Simon Johnny Olszewski, Jr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Herbert C. Conaway, Jr. Maggie Goodlander
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Timothy M. Kennedy Jennifer L. McClellan
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Emanuel Cleaver, II Salud Carbajal
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Nanette Diaz Barragán Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr.
Member of Congress Member of Congress
4
Troy A. Carter, Sr. Dan Goldman
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Sydney Kamlager-Dove Jonathan L. Jackson
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Shri Thanedar Mike Quigley
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Greg Landsman Judy Chu
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Yvette D. Clarke Dave Min
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jerrold Nadler Cleo Fields
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Adriano Espaillat Nikema Williams
Member of Congress Member of Congress
5
Juan Vargas Wesley Bell
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Shontel M. Brown Brittany Pettersen
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Scott H. Peters Betty McCollum
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Zoe Lofgren Marilyn Strickland
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Jill Tokuda Veronica Escobar
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Sean Casten Kweisi Mfume
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Andrea Salinas Chris Pappas
Member of Congress Member of Congress
6
Jim Costa Bill Foster
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Eleanor Holmes Norton Julia Brownley
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Suhas Subramanyam Glenn Ivey
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Gerald E. Connolly Ritchie Torres
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Steve Cohen Valerie P. Foushee
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Eugene Simon Vindman James P. McGovern
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Bennie G. Thompson Dina Titus
Member of Congress Member of Congress
7
Seth Moulton Jared Huffman
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Laura Friedman Mikie Sherrill
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Grace Meng Darren Soto
Member of Congress Member of Congress
Robert Garcia Joe Neguse
Member of Congress Member of Congress
8
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