Washington, DC – Republicans in Congress are wreaking havoc on American manufacturing, as their tariffs continue to raise costs and fuel uncertainty for small businesses and working people across the country.
Recent reporting by the Joint Economic Committee Minority (JEC) details how Republicans’ tariffs are hurting the small businesses that make up America’s manufacturing industry and killing tens of thousands of jobs. Small businesses, which make up the majority of U.S. manufacturing firms, are being forced to shoulder higher costs and lower profits because of Republicans’ harmful tariffs. These businesses have fewer resources than large corporations to adjust to these cost-raising tariffs, making them particularly vulnerable to their harsh impacts and less able to compete. Many have been forced to raise costs, lay-off workers, and even close their doors completely. To make matters worse, Republicans’ unnecessary war in Iran is projected to exacerbate the harm Republicans’ reckless agenda has already inflicted by raising costs even higher for small businesses and working families.
Nearly every Republican in Congress has voted repeatedly to support President Trump’s tariffs and war in Iran. Now, small businesses and families are paying the price.
According to JEC’s report,
- Since the start of Trump’s second term, the U.S. manufacturing sector has lost 102,000 jobs
- Small manufacturers’ profit margins were 11 percent lower in the nine months that followed “Liberation Day” compared to the same period in 2024
- Among small manufacturers, those focused on durable goods like vehicles, equipment, and electronics saw their profit margins decline by 24 percent
- Between 2024 and 2025, the manufacturing sector saw a nearly 18 percent decline in applications to form new manufacturing businesses that are most likely to hire employees
- A November survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond found that nearly 40 percent of small and mid-size firms reported having to cancel or delay capital expenditures in the wake of the tariffs
- Profit margins plummeted by 179 percent for computer and electronics manufacturers in the last three quarters of 2025 compared to 2024
- In the transportation equipment industry, small manufacturers’ margins dropped by 63 percent
“Tariffs are crushing small business manufacturers, raising prices, and costing Americans tens of thousands of jobs. Republicans in Congress have had ample opportunities to put an end to this harm, but have chosen to protect tariffs rather than their constituents at every single turn,” said Unrig Our Economy Campaign Director Leor Tal. “This report confirms what we already know: Congressional Republicans who voted to support tariffs betrayed the small businesses and working Americans they represent. It’s time they fixed what they broke and voted to roll back all of their cost-raising tariffs.”
To learn more about the campaign, visit UnrigOurEconomy.com or contact press@unrigoureconomy.com
###
About Unrig Our Economy
Unrig Our Economy is a national campaign to fix the rules of our economy to make it work for working people. We know that when the middle class does well, all of us do well — which is why we’re fighting on behalf of working Americans and holding corporations, their wealthy executives, and the politicians who enable them accountable.