The Trump administration is justifying its policy of implementing tariffs on imports by calling it a move to make the country less dependent on goods from other countries. And while that may sound like a good idea, Americans are quickly learning that we are the ones who are ultimately paying the price. And things are about to get worse as the President announced that a tariff exemption on goods coming into the country valued at $800 or less will end on August 29. That means your Shein haul is about to get a lot more expensive.
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As the rest of the world struggles to keep up with the administrations head-scratching economic policy, Black beauty businesses in the United States are being hit especially hard. The rising costs of braiding hair, wigs, hair glue and other items imported from countries like China and Vietnam are forcing customers and business owners to make difficult decisions about who should pay the price.
According to Reuters, the price of a package of synthetic braiding hair imported from Vietnam has risen from $190 to $290 since May of this year, and as a result, stylists have had to find creative ways to keep up.
“We’re being impacted at every level,” Georgia-based stylist Dajiah Blackshear-Calloway told Reuters in an interview. “I’m either having to eat that cost or pass that expense along to my clients, which affects their budgets and their pockets as well.”
In response to all of the uncertainty, Blackshear-Calloway has modified her pricing, charging $140 for a weave style customers bring their own hair and $400 when they use hair from her salon.
But customers are still frustrated, like TikTok user Ms. Amarachi, who says most consumers won’t be able to keep up with the rising cost of services like braids and will instead be forced to get creative with their own DIY styles.
“I predict that within the next year, a lot of these braiding shops and honestly like independent braiders are going to be out of business,” she said. “Like everybody is going to have to learn how to do their hair, and it’s going to be because of this pricing.”
Many of her commenters agreed, arguing that it’s hard to justify spending $450 on a temporary hairstyle when the price of everything from cars to coffee is going up.
“It’s getting out of hand, that’s more than my car note it’s a hard no!” wrote someone.
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