By importing its gelato ingredients from Italy to Livermore, Verace is now going to face a new 15% tariff on goods brought in from the European Union – a cost the owner worries about.
“We don’t want to pass it on to our customers because at the end of the day we don’t want them to be the ones to have to pay for this,” owner Raquel Montella said.
The proposed tariff would likely also hit imports of European cars, wines and semiconductors, among other items. But it’s the family-owned shops like Verace that could be among those hit the hardest.
“One hit with respect to a tax like this could be enough to ruin their year,” said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst at Bankrate. “So we worry about small business, which is the backbone of the U.S. economy.”
NBC Bay Area’s Scott Budman has more in the video report above.
Source: NBC Bay Area