OGDEN, Utah — After the Supreme Court ruled against most tariffs issued by President Donald Trump and his administration, I checked in with local businesses to see how tariffs have affected them and what they see happening next.
"A lot of our amethyst comes from Uruguay and Brazil; it's always a favorite," said Jack Knowlden with Rare Earth Elements in Ogden.
Selling rocks and rare stones from all over the world comes with some challenges, especially in the past year with tariffs.
"It's been hard to keep my prices down when I'm paying triple for it," Knowlden explained.
Knowlden also owns Skin It Tattoo right next door, where Kindra Foster is a tattoo artist.
"It's definitely something that's been felt," she said of the tariffs. "I feel like everybody in the industry is kind of feeling it. Everything's a lot more expensive now, and then also our whole career is based off our clients, so if they're also feeling the tariffs, then they're not going to come in."
Trump announces new tariffs after Supreme Court blocked earlier plan:
Even though Knowlden's businesses have tried to source supplies from local manufacturers, the tariffs have raised their prices as well, and it trickles down.
"Even our American manufacturers, their prices are going up, not necessarily because they manufacture the ink, but all the stuff they're using to do it, to bottle it, cap it and all that stuff, they're paying more for that, so the price goes up," Knowlden explained.
Knowlden is now breathing a sigh of relief that all of that could change after today's decision.
"It would be amazing, really," he said.
"That'd be incredible," added Foster. "It would definitely make a huge difference."
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With Trump's tariffs struck down, what happens to the billions collected?
They're hoping some of the revenue comes back to them.
"They should give us some tax write-offs, some cuts, some incentives or whatever that we made it through those hard times," said Knowlden.
Ogden thrives on local, and Knowlden believes the tariffs have impacted the whole ecosystem.
"It's affecting small business," he said, "and I believe that's the backbone of our country, small business.
"I'm optimistic, I think everything is going to pick up."
