Kathleen Shannon, producer/reporter, Wyoming News Service, a bureau of Public News Service.
Optimism among small businesses across the U.S. is hitting lows comparable to early pandemic days, mainly due to changing tariff policies.
A National Federation of Independent Business index shows only 18% of business owners are planning to invest in long-term assets in the next six months, down three points from March and at levels last seen in April 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
President Donald Trump has made about 50 announcements on new or changed tariff policies since taking office.
Dilawar Syed, former deputy administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, said on a Center for American Progress panel last month that businesses need certainty.
“Two-thirds of the 35 million small businesses import,” he said. “And 97% of all exporters are small businesses. So, folks may not think of small businesses being at the front end of the trade policy impact. They are at the tip of the spear.”
Nearly all Wyoming businesses are considered small by the U.S. Small Business Administration. According to a 2024 report, they employed over 65% of Wyoming workers, or about 130,000 people. In California, the agency reports there are 4.2 million small businesses with 7 million employees.
Other federal laws could impact businesses. The Republican congressional budget currently in the works would end tax credits from the Affordable Care Act that support health insurance for one-fifth of small business owners, or 4.2 million people. Cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, would hurt those in the food business, including Amerisal Foods owner Vanessa Faggiolly.
“My margins are already so thin that just trying to absorb that 10% just completely kills me. We can’t just get these increases and pass it onto the consumer right away,” Faggiolly said. “It’s going to take time. If we survive, it’s going to take some time.”
Trump has cut 43% of the staff at the Small Business Administration and at other agencies that assist businesses, including the Department of Agriculture and the Commerce and Treasury Departments.
