Small businesses take it on chin in Trumps tariff war heres how theyre trying to weather storm

Prestident Trump’s tariffs are socking US businesses across the board — but it’s the smaller companies that are really taking it on the chin.Small and midsize firms account for $868 billion, or about a third, of yearly US imports, according to the Census Bureau.While these companies are tiny compared to the likes of Microsoft, Amazon or Lululemon, they still rely on Chinese manufacturing — and they’re far less equipped to handle punishing financial disruptions like this.Nearly one in five small-to-midsize firms are pessimistic about their chances of survival over the next five years, according to a new report from PYMNTS Intelligence report.Just under 7% of all firms surveyed — and 13% of those without access to financing — believed they were unlikely to survive the next two years.The heads of some of these small businesses spoke to The Post about their fears:Isaac Larian, chief executive MGA Entertainment, voted for President Trump in November — but lately, he’s not so sure he made the right decision.“Frankly, I’m getting angry,” the toymaker of Bratz dolls, L.O.L.Surprise and other wildly popular items.In just two weeks, the Los Angeles-based company has paid nearly $10 million in tariffs to import its merchandise to the US from China.That has crimped plans for MGA’s Little Tikes line of toddler toys — among the few US toy makers that owns a factory here — to expand a factory in Hudson, Ohio that currently employs 700 workers.Instead, MGA could be laying off some of those workers, Larian told The Post.“We were going to break ground later this year, but we have to put it on hold,” Larian said.Meanwhile, Bratz dolls that cost $15 right now will likely cost as much as $30 in time for Christmas.

At that rate, the company will lose up to 40% of its sales and 40% of its profit this year, Larian said.The toy industry has been lobbying for an exemption to the 145% tariff on goods made in China and sees the carve out for tech companies ov...