U.S. Trade Policy Impacts Hispanic Businesses

This article was originally featured on The Good Men Project

Can Hispanic business leaders turn trade turmoil into an opportunity for economic resilience?

May 20, 2025 by Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Javier Palomarez, CEO of the United States Hispanic Business Council, highlights how policy uncertainty—especially around tariffs—is destabilizing small and medium-sized Hispanic-owned businesses. Unpredictable trade and regulatory shifts are draining vital resources, forcing firms to rework supply chains, pause hiring, and reassess investments. Industries from construction to food services are affected. Some business owners have turned to lobbying or independent trade negotiations to survive. Palomarez stresses that effective policy must be guided by business leader feedback and consistent communication. Hispanic business leadership, he argues, has the potential to shape resilient trade policy through proactive engagement and collective advocacy.

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: You have mentioned that “uncertainty is the bane of business.” How is uncertainty affecting small and medium businesses?

Javier Palomarez: Unpredictability in regard to both U.S. trade policy and the regulatory landscape costs small and medium sized businesses time and resources. For example, many of our member businesses say they need additional time, funds, employees, or resources to devise strategies and accomplish tasks related to supply chain management, importing and exporting, and fulfilling or navigating regulatory requirements. These are resources that a multitude of businesses cannot afford or do not have. This is why responsible deregulation and relying on the feedback of business leaders is so critical for policy implementation. 

Jacobsen: What industries within the United States Hispanic Business Council have been disrupted by the unpredictable tariff policy?

Palomarez: Unpredictable tariff policy has affected just about every industry represented within the U.S. Hispanic Business Council, including construction, auto-manufacturing, infrastructure, tech, software and electronics, transportation, agriculture, and food services, among others. 

Jacobsen: How have business owners adapted to the fluctuating trade environment?

Palomarez: Reasonably, our member businesses have responded to the unpredictable trade environment by raising costs, altering supply chain management, methods, or routes, and taking a step back to analyze costs and production. Furthermore, some businesses have taken matters into their own hands and have engaged in their own trade negotiations or have lobbied the federal government to make changes. In some cases, tariff exceptions have been granted by the Trump administration as a result of intervention and lobbying by business owners. 

Jacobsen: How does the fear of potential tariffs influence hiring, investment, or supply chain decisions, among member businesses?

Palomarez: The fear of potential higher costs and disrupted supply chains caused by tariffs have forced business owners to rethink new hirings, their current payroll, prices, investments within the United States versus alternative countries, and supply chain methods, among other things. These are all business considerations and factors that can and likely will be affected significantly by tariffs. Resultantly, our member businesses are increasingly likely to have to alter their personnel, prices, and supply chains. 

Jacobsen: How do you evaluate the communication and transparency of U.S. trade policy now?

Palomarez: At the moment, communication of U.S. trade policy seems to be coming unilaterally and often sporadically from the office of the President. This isn’t beneficial for business owners because policies can change rapidly, forcing quick and significant changes in prices and business practices. Nothing is necessarily being hidden from businesses and citizens in regard to a lack of transparency, but the unpredictability of tariffs on a country-by-country basis makes business and market decisions highly volatile. Our member businesses are reliant on us and their own research to plan and forecast.

Jacobsen: What have USHBC members said about the human and financial toll of the uncertainty?

Palomarez: Our member businesses repeatedly state that the fear of potential higher costs and disrupted supply chains caused by tariffs have forced them to rethink new hirings, their current payroll, prices, investments within the United States versus alternative countries, and supply chain methods, among other things. Unpredictability will undoubtedly cost significant resources, as employees, funds, and time will be needed to devise new strategies, make monetary decisions, alter supply chains, lobby, and negotiate. Revenue, personnel, and prices can all be affected. 

Jacobsen: How can Hispanic business leadership shape future U.S. trade policy to support economic resilience? 

Palomarez: Hispanic business owners can shape and reshape future U.S. trade policy in a plethora of ways. First and foremost, devoting time and effort to making your voice heard is essential. Political leaders should rely on feedback from business leaders when making decisions that affect our nation’s businesses – especially the fastest growing segment – hispanic small businesses. That being said, making your voice heard is the only path to achieving advocacy and eventual results. Furthermore, taking matters into your own hands, as many companies have, can significantly benefit your business. For example, some companies have achieved tariff exceptions by lobbying the Trump administration. Others have solved issues pertaining to importing, exporting, and supply chain management by initiating their own trade negotiations. Furthermore, businesses like Zions Bank are hosting their own national and international forums and conversations to have discussions about trade policy and forge potential new paths forward. Business leaders undoubtedly have the power to make a difference and promote economic growth and revitalization.

Jacobsen: Thank you for the opportunity and your time, Javier.