President Donald Trump’s April 9 decision to hike tariffs on China hit as Steve Egan, a promotional product distributor in Tampa, Florida, was in the middle of ordering 5,000 rubber ducks from a Chinese vendor.
The ducks were for a local non-profit that wanted to hand them out at parades and special events. Overnight, the ducks’ cost jumped from 29 to 45 cents apiece, according to Egan.
That order is now on hold by the customer until the tariff situation is resolved, along with orders from other clients for thousands of other items, from hats to poker chips.
“I kind of feel like we’re back in COVID times because everything’s in limbo,” said Egan, 64, who voted for Trump in November.
His first-quarter sales in 2025 were 70% lower than the previous year, although they ticked up in April.
Trump’s barrage of tariffs against global trading partners has reverberated around the United States over the past few months, affecting the livelihoods of myriad Americans, including many who said they voted for him.
Tariffs were the most common policy cited by 25 Trump voters across the country interviewed by Reuters about the president’s first 100 days in office and what had most impacted their lives. They said they saw the effects at their workplaces and in their investments, especially their 401(k) retirement plans.
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