• Kevin O'Leary dismissed a comparison between the AI boom and the dot-com bubble.
• The "Shark Tank" investor told Business Insider that AI generates measurable savings.
• He also said that "everybody got it wrong" on the impact of tariffs on the economy.

The AI boom isn't going to collapse like the dot-com bubble, investor Kevin O'Leary told Business Insider.

Many people, including Nobel economist Paul Krugman, fund manager Bill Smead, and entrepreneurship professor Erik Gordon, have compared the fervor around AI to internet buzz in the late 1990s and early 2000s, which ended with a stock-market crash.

But the "Shark Tank" investor and chair of O'Leary Ventures said AI wasn't "the same hype that the internet bubble was, because today, you actually can see the productivity and measure it on a dollar-by-dollar basis."

O'Leary gave the example of Fly Guys, a drone company he's invested in. Other companies can commission it to scan the tops of their buildings and deliver "AI-ready aerial imagery" to identify problems and automatically create work orders for them.

"That saves millions of dollars" for companies like Walmart or Home Depot with large commercial footprints, O'Leary said.

He added that such savings from AI may offset tariff costs and support high valuations for stocks.

Whether that's the case should be revealed in earnings over the next 12 to 18 months, he said.

O'Leary thinks tariffs aren't the threat many thought

Stocks plunged after Trump unveiled his plans for tariffs on "Liberation Day" in early April, but have since rebounded to record highs.

The recovery shows why investors should stay in the market during downturns "even though it's nerve-racking and nail-biting," O'Leary said.

The celebrity investor and self-proclaimed "Mr. Wonderful" said it can be costly to panic and dump stocks, adding he has seen investors miss out by doing this "over and over again."

He added that if an investor cashed out during April's sell-off, they missed the sort of returns they might expect over three years in just 88 trading sessions.

The S&P has gained around 27% from its low on April 8, and is around 12% higher than its level before the slump, far above the market's long-term annual return of about 7%.

The bounceback reflects greater "clarity" over tariffs, O'Leary said, adding some were "very manageable" at 10% to 15% for trade partners such as the EU. The latest rates range from 10% for the UK to 41% for Syria.

The SoftKey founder, who sold The Learning Company to Mattel in 1999, said that he would have expected to see evidence by now if tariffs were going to reignite inflation or cause a recession.

The benchmark consumer price index rose only 0.2% in April, 0.1% in May, and 0.3% in June on a seasonally adjusted basis.

He said the fear that tariffs would lead to "input costs killing gross margin" hasn't been realized yet, and US consumers also look to be in good shape.

He called it a "remarkable situation" as "basically, everybody got it wrong" on the impact of tariffs on the economy.

O'Leary said that he and his business managers were loading up on inventory in preparation for a busy holiday season. "So that gives you some indication, we're net bullish," he said.

During what's supposed to be a year of redemption, Sonos has announced that its gadgets will become more expensive this year, complicating the company's comeback plans.

Tariffs that US President Donald Trump announced last week take effect today, including a 19 percent tariff on goods imported from Malaysia (the levy is said not to apply to semiconductors and was cut down from a 25 percent tariff that Trump threatened in July.) Among other countries affected is Vietnam, which now sees a 20 percent tariff (down from the 46 percent rate announced in April).

Sonos makes all its audio products in the US, “short of a few accessories and our passive speaker partnership with Sonance," which entails in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, in Malaysia and Vietnam, Sonos CEO Tom Conrad said yesterday, per a transcript of Sonos’ Q3 2025 earnings call. The new CEO explained:

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It's now clear that Apple plans to survive Donald Trump's trade war by playing to the president's ego.

On Wednesday, Trump announced that Apple would be exempt from a threatened 100 percent tariff on semiconductors that could have driven up the cost of iPhones globally, Reuters reported. In an apparent effort to secure this exemption, Apple promised to increase its total investment commitment in the US by $100 billion, while also gifting Trump a one-of-a-kind statue that Apple CEO Tim Cook had engraved with Trump's name.

It serves as a bizarre love letter to Trump's push to bring tech manufacturing into the US, despite Apple resisting that push for its most popular product.

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• Donald Trump has proposed and implemented a slew of tariffs in an effort to achieve his policy aims.
• Some tariffs started right away; others changed or remained on pause to allow for negotiations.
• With a big deadline finally here, we looked at where Trump's trade plans stand and what they mean for you.

The big day is here: More of President Donald Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs are going into effect after many of his proposals were paused or rolled back.

All the back-and-forth makes it difficult to keep track of where they all stand and how they might influence prices.

On a broad scale, the price jumps economists and companies have predicted are slowly trickling into US economic data; the year-over-year inflation rate climbed to 2.7% in June, up from 2.4% the month prior, as more companies raised prices in response to tariff threats.

Nike, for example, said it would raise prices to offset an expected $1 billion in additional tariff costs in the coming year, and Shein and Temu said they would start adjusting prices in April due to tariff changes.

Trump has said the long-term benefits of tariffs will be worth some short-term pain. The tariffs' stated goals include raising revenue for the US government, righting trade imbalances, and achieving other policy goals, such as cracking down on drugs and border policy.

Here's where it all stands now that the bulk of Trump's big tariffs are finally in place.

Tariffs already in place

25% tariff on imported steel and aluminum started in March

A 25% tariff on all imported steel and aluminum has been in effect since March. Trump's trade deal with the UK, however, reduced tariff rates on British steel, aluminum, and cars in exchange for the UK buying $10 billion worth of Boeing planes, among other things.

25%-35% tariff on some goods from Mexico and Canada started in March

Trump's tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada that are not compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement are meant to compel those countries to combat drug trafficking and strengthen border control. Exempted goods include those with complex supply chains, like cars and car parts. In addition, energy imports from Canada have a 10% tariff.

Trump raised the tariff rate on Canadian goods not compliant with USMCA to 35% on August 1, saying that the country has failed to effectively crack down on drug trafficking.

10% baseline tariff on most imports started in April

The 10% baseline tariff Trump announced on April 2 remains in effect for most countries. A slew of major brands have already said they would be raising prices, citing the tariffs in place or anticipation of more to come. One Republican business owner previously told Business Insider that he had started adding a "tariff tax" on his bikes, expecting that producing electric bikes would be 10% more expensive.

The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said at a press conference in early May that Trump was "determined to continue with that 10% baseline tariff" as part of any deal he might strike with other countries.

"Reciprocal" tariffs that vary by country

After months of postponements and negotiations with countries, Trump rolled out a host of new tariffs on August 7, with the highest rates including 50% on Brazil, 40% on Myanmar and Switzerland, and 39% on Iraq.

"IT'S MIDNIGHT!!! BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN TARIFFS ARE NOW FLOWING INTO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!" Trump wrote in a Truth Social post.

While India's tariff rate now stands at 25%, Trump said that it will rise to 50% later this month for "directly or indirectly importing Russian Federation oil," according to his executive order.

Postponed tariffs

Tariffs on China were lowered for 90 days

After a lot of back-and-forth over whether China and the US would engage in trade talks, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in Geneva in May that the US and China had reached an agreement to "substantially" lower tariffs. Bessent said Trump's 145% tariff on Chinese goods would decrease to 30% for 90 days. China, in turn, said it would lower its tariffs on American goods to 10% from 125% over the same time period.

US Customs and Border Protection had previously exempted smartphones, computers, and other technology to minimize price increases on those products in the US. The most significant price impact from tariffs will most likely be felt on other goods imported from China, especially toys and vehicle parts.

Other tariffs floated by Trump

Lumber

On March 1, Trump directed Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to investigate US lumber imports and determine whether any imports threatened national security. Tariffs were recommended as a possibility to mitigate any threats.

Alcohol

Responding to a plan from the European Union to place tariffs on American whiskey, Trump wrote on a March 13 Truth Social post that the US would place 200% tariffs on wine, Champagne, and other alcoholic products coming out of the EU.

Pharmaceutical products

In April, Trump told reporters that he would impose tariffs on imported pharmaceutical products at levels "you haven't really seen before" and would announce the measures in "the near future."

Semiconductors

Trump said during an event on Wednesday that he is planning a 100% tariff on semiconductors unless businesses commit to investing in and building their products in the US.

"If you have made a commitment to build or are in the process of building, as many are, there is no tariff. If, for some reason, you say you are building and you don't build, we go back and add it up, it accumulates, and we will charge you at a later date. You have to pay," Trump said.

• Major US alcohol producers are urging Donald Trump to cut tariffs ahead of the holidays.
• An alcohol association representing Beam Suntory and Brown-Forman sent a letter to the White House.
• It warned that the tariffs could result in a $2 billion sales loss and 25,000 American jobs lost.

As the holiday season looms, US liquor groups are begging Trump to kill the tariffs they say could ruin their most lucrative stretch of the year.

A group of 57 associations and guilds called the Toasts not Tariffs Coalition, said in a Wednesday letter to the White House that tariffs could result in a $2 billion sales loss in the holidays.

"We reiterate our urgent request that the U.S. and EU come to an agreement to secure fair and reciprocal trade on spirits and wine," the group wrote in the letter.

"As we approach the critical holiday season, a period that is essential to the success of our industries, we implore you to secure this important deal for the U.S. as soon as possible," it added.

The letter comes as Trump's new tariffs went into effect at midnight on Thursday, with the European Union being slammed with a 15% tariff rate on most goods. However, the EU said on Tuesday said it would pause retaliatory tariffs for six months.

Other countries, such as Switzerland and India, were hit much harder, with tariff rates of 39% and 50%, respectively. India's tariffs are set to go into effect later in August.

In March, Trump also threatened to impose a 200% tariff on wine and other alcohol from the EU.

The coalition said it estimated that a 15% tariff on EU wine and spirits could result in more than 25,000 American job losses and nearly $2 billion in lost sales. Per data from the US Distilled Spirits Council, the US exported $2.4 billion worth of spirits in 2024.

Groups in the Toasts not Tariffs coalition represent US liquor heavyweights like Beam Suntory, the parent of Jim Beam, and Jack Daniel's owner Brown-Forman. The coalition also includes non-liquor bodies like the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association.

The Wednesday letter was the group's second appeal to the White House. It sent a similar letter in January, urging Trump to exclude wine and spirits from his coming tariffs and convince the US's trading partners not to apply retaliatory tariffs on their products.

Kentucky's bourbon makers also appealed to the White House to ease up on tariffs after Canada's boycott of US alcohol in March.

The Kentucky Distillers' Association said in a March statement on X that retaliatory tariffs would have "far-reaching consequences across Kentucky, home to 95% of the world's bourbon."

Representatives for Trump and the Distilled Spirits Council did not respond to requests for comment from BI.

• Apple is going to spend another $100 billion investing in US facilities.
• That's on top of a $500 billion pledge the company made earlier this year.
• Is that a lot? Sort of. Is it a move to make iPhones in the US? Not at all.

At a White House event on Wednesday afternoon, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced plans to invest $100 billion in US manufacturing.

Is this a real plan, with real money? A bit of stagecraft designed to give Donald Trump a public win for his reshoring push? Or a way for Apple to keep on the right side of Trump tariffs that could cause great harm to the company?

Yes. And yes. And yes.

Some context:

• In February, Apple said it would invest $500 billion and hire 20,000 US employees over the next four years.
• Now Apple is going to add another $100 billion to that commitment.
• Apple spelled out how it is going to spend some of that money at the White House event, including a pledge to spend $2.5 billion expanding its work in a Corning plant in Kentucky, where it makes glass for iPhones and Apple Watches. Apple says that work will eventually ensure that all of its devices sold worldwide will use American glass (though it didn't spell out how much of that work was already being done in America).

But this isn't the first time Apple has announced a pledge like this. In 2021 — when Joe Biden was president — it announced a plan to invest $430 billion in the US over five years and hire 20,000 employees. Some of those plans involved new construction, like a new "engineering hub" in North Carolina. Others involved expansions of existing facilities, or construction that was already underway, like a $1 billion campus in Austin.

As Bloomberg notes, Apple's announcement from February was really an acceleration of its earlier plans — it meant Apple was planning to spend an extra $39 billion a year, and to increase its hiring plans by 1,000 people a year.

Using that same logic, Apple's Wednesday announcement means it is planning on spending another $25 billion a year above its earlier plans. (No word, yet, about any additional hiring, though Apple did say its work with Corning would increase the workforce there by 50%.)

So that's definitely some additional spending.

Will Apple make iPhones in the US?

Does that mean Apple is going to start making iPhones in the US, as Trump has demanded?

No. As we've discussed before, recreating the supply chain Apple would need to make iPhones in the US seems close to impossible. And certainly not something that Apple could pull off in a few years — if it even wanted to.

Cook was asked that question directly at the press conference, and was ready for it. "There's a lot of content in there from the United States," he argued, pointing to the glass deal and other elements made at least in part in America. But as far as actually putting that stuff together — which requires a complicated supply chain Cook spent years and billions overseeing? "That will be elsewhere for a while," he said.

Still, getting to stand next to the CEO of one of the world's most valuable companies, while that CEO says he's going to invest in America, is most definitely valuable to Trump, who was beaming throughout the event.

And it's not as if any particular number means much to Trump, who recently announced he was going to reduce drug prices by "1,500 percent," which is definitely not possible.

Trump is also flexible when it comes to announcements about Trump-directed spending in America. Like when he stood next to Cook during his first term and announced that Apple had opened a new plant in Texas at his behest. Also not true.

What does Apple get in return? It would most obviously like permanent relief from Trump's tariffs. So far, Trump has granted Apple some immunity from some of his tariffs on foreign manufacturing — but not all of them, which is why Apple has said it will have paid some $2 billion in tariffs over its last two quarters.

Apple and other tech companies are also hoping Trump will keep pushing on their behalf to beat down other countries' tech regulations. Apple is particularly vexed by the European Union, which has forced the company to do things like change its iPhone chargers and open up its App Store.

So yes: Apple is spending money in the US. And no: It's not exactly the story Donald Trump would like to tell.

An ill wind blows through the automotive industry. Yesterday, after the market closed, Rivian reported its results for the second quarter of 2025, and they weren't great. Unlike the last two quarters, Rivian did not make a gross profit, and it's estimating it will have a larger loss this year than it first predicted. A day earlier, it was Lucid's turn: The Saudi-backed EV startup also missed analyst estimates for the quarter, and Lucid says it will build fewer cars this year than originally planned.

"We delivered solid performance despite a challenging macroeconomic backdrop, thanks to the adaptability and focus of our team in navigating a dynamic environment," said Taoufiq Boussaid in an elegant bit of business-speak that elides the true horror of the situation.

In both cases, the reasons for these underwhelming performances were the same: US government policies. Since taking office in January, President Trump and the Republican Party have been hard at work tearing up environmental regulations and overturning policies meant to encourage EV adoption, as well as fomenting a global trade war through the imposition of irrational and costly tariffs.

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• Jefferies analysts predicted a $50 price increase for the iPhone 17 Pro models.
• The price hike would aim to offset tariff costs, likely affecting Pro and Pro Max models.
• Analysts expect Apple to beat estimates coming off a surge of iPhone demand in May and April.

iPhone panic buyers might've been onto something in April.

If Apple maintains its tradition of introducing a new iPhone lineup in September, Jefferies analysts expect the mysterious iPhone 17 will cost more than its predecessors. In a note published on Wednesday, the analysts predicted a $50 price increase — a 4% to 5% jump from 2024 — to offset the impact of tariffs.

The price hike would likely exclude the base model, Jefferies said, and affect the Pro, Pro Max, and the rumored slimmer iPhone model.

As of Wednesday, the retail price of the iPhone 16 Pro Max starts at $1,199.

Jefferies assumes 40% of the iPhone 17 will be made in China for US consumers. If the average cost to build it goes up by $20 to $25, a $50 bump in price "may barely cover the above cost increases."

During its last earnings call, Apple told investors to expect a $900 million tariff hit for the June quarter

Despite the expectation of a price hike over tariff costs, Jefferies analysts expect Apple to report a strong June quarter on Thursday. They think increased demand for iPhones from consumers who feared price hikes drove higher sales.

However, the spike in demand sparked by tariffs in April and May seemed to cool in June, UBS analysts estimated. They expect a softened demand for the iPhone 17 in September.

• Adidas' CEO has said tariffs "will directly increase the cost of our products for the US."
• The retailer sources many products from Vietnam and Indonesia, which are facing import levies.
• The company joins other companies, including rival Nike, saying they will raise prices to offset tariffs.

Adidas is the latest company to say it will raise prices in the US because of tariffs.

"The latest iteration of tariffs will directly increase the cost of our products for the US," CEO Bjørn Gulden said Wednesday, adding the levies could cost the company 200 million euros, around $218 million, in the second half of the year.

He added the company had a "negative impact in the double-digit euro millions" from tariffs in Q2.

In a statement accompanying the sportswear giant's most recent results, Gulden added that the company was wary of a bullish outlook for the rest of 2025 because, "We feel the volatility and uncertainty in the world does not make this prudent. We still do not know what the final tariffs in the US will be."

He was speaking as countries from which Adidas sources much of its products face tariffs.

Vietnam, Adidas's largest sourcing country, accounting for 27% of the company's total volume, will face a 20% tariff from August 1. Indonesia made 19% of Adidas' products and will face a 19% tariff.

Adidas joins other companies saying they will raise prices because of tariffs. Its rival Nike said at the end of June that it would raise prices in the US to offset a predicted $1 billion rise in costs.

Macy's, Shein, Temu, Ford, and Walmart have also said they will raise prices to offset tariffs.

Gulden added the company does not know "what the indirect impact on consumer demand will be should all these tariffs cause major inflation."

He said Adidas will stick to its initial outlook for 2025 of operating profit between €1.7 and 1.8 billion. "We currently feel confident to deliver it, but of course this might change," Gulden said.

Adidas's stock was down 7% to €13.85 a share on Frankfurt's stock exchange at 12:30 p.m. local time.

Revenue jumped about 2% year-on-year to almost €6 billion in the three months ending June 30. Operating profit rose 58% year-on-year in the second quarter to €546 million.

• Donald Trump has complained about media companies making movies outside the US.
• Netflix just emphasized how much of its production happens in the US.
• Coincidence?

Donald Trump, who frequently complains about media companies, doesn't appear to be angry at Netflix at the moment.

Netflix would like to keep it that way.

Which may explain why the company spent a bit of time in its latest earnings report talking up its commitment to making its shows and movies in America.

In the streamer's second quarter earnings report, Netflix officials made a point of emphasizing how much money it has spent making content in the US — $125 billion between 2020 and 2024 — and how much more it plans to spend in the near future — including new production facilities in New Mexico and New Jersey.

Does that have anything to do with the confusing announcement Trump made in May, when he vowed to slap a "100% Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands?" A Netflix rep declined to comment.

But you can check out the language the company used in its shareholder letter for yourself:

As we grow globally, our most significant investment remains in the US, which accounts for the majority of our content spend, workforce and production infrastructure. From 2020-2024, we estimate that we contributed $125 billion to the US economy. Our expansion in Albuquerque, NM—adding four new soundstages to a 108-acre site—and our plan to invest roughly $1B to develop a state-of-the-art production facility (including 12 new soundstages) in Fort Monmouth, NJ, underscore our ongoing commitment to production in the US.

This isn't the first time Netflix has played up its interest in US production. That statement above includes a link to a report spelling out its investment in the US, which was published April 23 — less than a couple weeks before Trump came out with its Hollywood tariff plan.

And Netflix also discussed its US investments in its previous earnings report, which came out on April 17. But the language it used there was much lighter on superlatives, and much less America-centric. Compare and contrast:

While the majority of our content spend and production infrastructure investment is in the US, we now also spend billions of dollars per year making programming abroad. And instead of just licensing local titles, we're now making local shows and films in many countries, commissioned by our local executives, that keep our members happy. And our local slates are improving each year.

If Netflix is trying to please Trump or his circle via corporate messaging, they wouldn't be the first company to do so. In May, for instance, cable/broadband giant Charter went out of its way to describe its plan to acquire Cox as an explicitly pro-American move.

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, by the way, has said he had a "nice long dinner" with Trump in December at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, prior to Trump's second inauguration. "He said Melania and [son] Barron were big fans," Sarandos said.

• President Donald Trump has threatened 10% tariff on countries aligning with BRICS policies.
• A BRICS statement from the group's annual meeting voiced concerns about tariffs and the Gaza war.
• Trump has previously targeted BRICS, threatening a 100% tariff rate on countries seeking to ditch the dollar.

President Donald Trump has issued a new tariff threat.

"Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday night.

"There will be no exceptions to this policy," he added.

Trump's comments come amid a two-day BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro. The group of emerging nations includes key members Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

On Sunday, the BRICS group issued a statement expressing "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures which distort trade and are inconsistent with WTO rules."

The group also condemned US and Israeli military strikes on Iran, a BRICS member. It called for negotiations to achieve a ceasefire and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip.

"We reiterate our grave concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, with the resumption of continuous Israeli attacks against Gaza and obstruction of the entry of humanitarian aid into the territory," the statement said.

Not Trump's first BRICS tariff threat

It's not the first time Trump has taken aim at BRICS.

In December, he threatened a 100% tariff on countries pursuing alternatives to the US dollar. Economists said at the time that the move could backfire.

Even so, BRICS nations have been exploring alternatives to the US dollar. De-dollarization discussions accelerated after sweeping sanctions against Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

On Sunday, the BRICS group said it would continue discussing a cross-border payments system among member states.

Trump's threats of even more tariffs on countries aligning with BRICS come ahead of his administration's plans to send letters to trading partners informing them of new tariff rates on their imports to the US.

Trump said in a separate post that the letters would be delivered starting at noon ET on Monday.

The White House confirmed that Donald Trump has extended the deadline for a TikTok sale for a third time, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Now, China-based ByteDance has 90 days to divest its US assets or potentially be forced to shut down US operations. Trump's announcement came one day before the June 19 deadline he established through his last extension. That extension was necessary after Vice President JD Vance failed to make a "high-level" deal expected in April, which Politico branded a "make or break moment" where Vance could have secured a big win.

Yesterday, Trump told reporters on Air Force One that China was holding up the sale, suggesting that China may have an upper hand in TikTok negotiations, and perhaps TikTok is losing its sheen as a US bargaining chip in Trump's bigger trade war.

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• Excel Dryer, a hand dryer manufacturer, makes its products in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts.
• COO William Gagnon says being made in the US is a company priority, but that it has not been easy.
• He said the company has gained business amid the tariffs as its costs have remained stable.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with William Gagnon, executive vice president and COO of Excel Dryer, a hand-dryer manufacturer based in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts. Their main product is the XLERATOR Hand Dryer. This story has been edited for length and clarity.

We are a family-owned and operated company. I own it with my father, Dennis, who always wanted to own his own manufacturing company and make quality products that were American-made, dependable, and that people like to use. That was his criteria.

The apple didn't fall far from the tree. We've worked together over the years to make sure that it stayed that way.

It's certainly been difficult, with the easy route being to simply source overseas and get things cheap from China and keep costs down and make more margin. But that wasn't who we were.

We always tried to find a better way to do things — to be more efficient, reduce material and labor costs, and have quality employees making a living wage — and still be able to produce an American-made product that was high quality at an affordable price.

We are Made-in-USA certified, which requires a minimum of 84% of materials sourced domestically, but we have far surpassed that. We're really in the upper 90% of being sourced in the US, and almost 50% of our materials are sourced in Massachusetts from very local vendors.

For a while, we couldn't find a motor manufacturer domestically that could compete with motors from China in performance, price, size, and other things. But we have since found a domestic partner and shifted all of our motor manufacturing to be with a partner out of Tennessee.

It has not been easy, and it took a consistent, dedicated effort to always be looking and always be trying to find new vendors as close as possible.

Being made in America differentiates us from other hand dryers and certainly makes a difference to our customers and the buyers.

The recent tariffs have also been good for business. We've been able to control our supply lines and our materials and their costs because they're all domestic. With everyone living in uncertain times and not knowing really where the materials they were buying from people were coming from, we've known, and that has put us in a very competitive position.

One of our top distributors put out an e-blast saying that several of our top competitors were raising their prices, but our name was not on that list. We asked them to put out that same e-blast to say that XL Dryer is American-made and will not be having a price increase because we're tariff resilient and domestically sourced. We have absolutely gotten new customers as a result of this.

We are also a global company. We just put almost 600 hand dryers into the new Istanbul airport. But to get our American-made product into Turkey, there are substantial added costs, such as tariffs and value-added tax. It's a barrier to entry there and makes our product more expensive and less competitive. If those costs can come down through trade negotiations, it's going to open up more international markets for us.

Uncertainty is never good, especially for business, so that the sooner things can be negotiated and put into place, the better it's going to be for all involved.

We're a small manufacturer of a niche product, and everyone's story is different. But for us, in the way we've been doing business and doing it harder than most and making it a part of who we are — and being proud to be American-made in Massachusetts, which is where America was born — it is an exciting time for us.

Being American-made is just who we are. It is in our DNA. But I feel it's as if we almost were looking into the future a little bit to be ready for this moment, and it's maybe a positive for all the hard work over the years that we had to put in to keep it this way. It's nice for it to be paying off.

Do you have a story to share about American manufacturing or tariffs? Contact this reporter at [email protected].

• Victor Schwartz's business VOS Selections is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against Trump's tariffs.
• Schwartz thought imported specialty wines were his edge in the business until tariffs hit.
• Despite a stressful year so far, Schwartz says the positive response he got is energizing.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Victor Schwartz, owner of VOS Selections, a wine importing company based in New York. His business is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against President Donald Trump's use of emergency powers to impose tariffs. This essay has been edited for length and clarity.

Suing the government was not part of my business plan, and we have taken a big hit from the tariffs, yet in a strange way, it's been incredibly energizing to be involved a this case that could help so many.

I founded my business about 39 years ago as an importer and distributor of fine wines, spirits, and sakes. We have 19 people in the company, including me and my daughter.

I started my business in France, and we work with very small producers for cutting-edge products. The idea was to bring in things you don't find everywhere, and I thought that was really going to be my edge in the business, until the tariffs hit.

I knew I was sticking my neck out as the lead plaintiff of the case, which goes further than just throwing my hat in the ring, but I still decided that I needed to do this.

Tariffs made an already tough business even harder

There hasn't been enough information on just how complicated this process is.

The prelude to the tariffs is already bad. In our first quarter, we were down 16% compared to last year. Restaurants and retailers we work with are complaining heavily, cutting back products either in anticipation of tariffs or because consumers are not buying.

Then the main tariffs hit in April. My daughter and I spent two full days looking through every product in our book to determine what the tariff impact was going to be, which products we needed to drop, and how much tariffs we could afford to eat. As we all know, all the numbers changed in a few days, and it just keeps happening.

Keep in mind that alcohol is a heavily regulated business. Under regulations in the state of New York, for example, we have to post prices by the fifth of the month prior to the month of sale. Combine that with the time it takes for products to cross oceans and get through customs, this means we have to think about May pricing in March.

We're in that position of having to make firm decisions about what our pricing is going to be under very uncertain situations. As a small business with more than 600 mostly imported products from 350 producers, that just became impossible.

By now in June, the contraction I have feared is playing out. We go back to a good customer and say, "Hey, you've been using this product, but now we have to bring more of it in. Are you interested in this product at the new price?" Most of the time, they say "no." It's not like they're going to buy a domestic product. They're just going to buy another imported product that is less expensive.

Also, the customs are not going to release our container unless we pay them upfront. A 10% tariff means 10% less of our cash flow, and that means being much tighter on our inventory, reducing and stopping some orders where we could, and not moving forward on new projects.

As we run out of more products and have to raise prices on new imports, it's only going to get worse as we get into August and September.

I stepped up because bigger players won't

Retaliation was something I had to take into account when I decided to become the lead plaintiff.

One of the big motivating factors for me to step up is that the big guys in business were not getting involved. The big guys who have the money and power are cowering or defending their own self-interest.

The administration could come after me in many different ways to harm my business. Because this is a heavily regulated industry, we have to work with the government all the time. We deal with the TTB, the FDA, and Customs and Border Protection.

There have always been glitches here and there, but now whenever there is a glitch, I always think in the back of my mind, "Is this a real glitch or is this somebody coming after me?" So far, there is nothing. But I did have to consider potential consequences. If I hadn't been in this industry for 40 years, I may have made a different decision.

About 99% of the contacts I have gotten are positive, and this has really made me feel energized. It really blows me away that people have taken the time to write me cards and letters — not just "thank yous" but long letters too.

It seems that I have really struck a chord. I guess most lawsuits, in a certain sense, are just you looking out for yourself. But with my case, I just feel like we are trying to do something that's going to help a lot of people, and that is very empowering.