Tariffs Are Quietly Crushing Georgia’s Black Women Business Owners

Black Women Business Owners Are Facing A New Storm.

There’s a new storm brewing, and most people aren’t even talking about it.

Federal tariffs on imported goods, materials, and manufacturing equipment raise overnight costs for packaging, ingredients, freight, and production. While all small businesses feel the pressure, Black Women business owners are getting hit the hardest.

Georgia has long been home to one of the country's largest populations of Black-owned businesses. In the Atlanta metro area alone, there are over 13,700 Black-owned businesses (Black Enterprise). Many of them are led by Black women who do more than just run businesses; we’re building ecosystems.

But let’s be honest. We’ve been doing all this with less capital, access, and cushion. We’re more likely to self-fund, use credit cards, or dip into our savings just to get an idea off the ground. And then, when we try to scale, we’re locked out again. Black Women receive less than 1% of venture capital funding and are rejected for loans at three times the rate of white business owners (JPMorgan, Black Economic Alliance).

So when tariffs spike the cost of doing business, we don’t just cut back. We risk closure.

Here’s what that looks like in real life:

• I spoke with a Savannah-based hair care founder who told me her ingredient and packaging costs have gone up by 15 to 20% in just a few months.

• A boutique owner in Atlanta who imports wholesale garments saw shipping fees skyrocket and had to decide between raising prices on loyal customers or cutting her salary.

• A stationery company in Warner Robins delayed a product launch because new international production costs blew the budget.

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These stories aren’t the exception. They’re the reality for many of us.

And when our businesses struggle, the whole community feels it. Black Women business owners hire other Black Women. We reinvest in our neighborhoods. We build safe, creative spaces that pour into the next generation. So when tariffs push us out, it’s not just a storefront that disappears. It’s a piece of community infrastructure.

Nationally, Black Women own over 2.1 million businesses, generate more than $98 billion in revenue, and employ over 647,000 people (LendingTree). Yet, we’re being pushed to the margins by policy that wasn’t made with us in mind.

This isn’t about poor planning. This is about a lack of protection. And it’s time we changed that.

So what can be done?

For policymakers:

• Enact tariff exemptions and targeted relief for small and micro businesses, especially those owned by Black Women.

• Require racial equity impact assessments before trade policies roll out.

• Create emergency federal funds to help businesses navigate cost spikes.

For corporations and retailers:

• Bridge the gap with early payments and funding to small suppliers.

• Take an honest look at your supplier diversity efforts. Are you protecting the vendors you claim to support?

• Increase procurement from Georgia-based, Black Women-owned businesses.

For consumers:

• Be intentional. Your dollar has power.

• Ask your favorite stores if they carry Black-owned brands; if they don’t, ask why not.

• Share, repost, and advocate. Visibility is survival.

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We survived a pandemic, made it through broken supply chains, and led with innovation during a social justice uprising.

But we should not have to keep proving our worth through crisis after crisis. Tariffs are closures waiting to happen, and if Georgia wants to protect its future, it needs to start by protecting the women who have been holding it up.