Elected officials and community leaders representing Lower Manhattan are speaking out in protest about the impact that the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration are having in Chinatown.

At a rally earlier this month on Doyers Street, Congressman Dan Goldman said, “Donald Trump’s reckless and destructive trade war is crippling New York’s [Asian-American Pacific Islander, or AAPI] small businesses and pushing entire communities to the brink of financial ruin. Mom-and-pop shops are struggling to make ends meet. Livelihoods are on the line. If Trump doesn’t reverse these tariffs immediately, his dangerous brinkmanship will shutter AAPI small businesses not only in New York City but across the country.”

State Assembly member Grace Lee, who chairs the Asian Pacific American Task Force in the lower house of the State legislature, said, “Trump’s reckless tariff policies are driving up costs for small businesses and raising prices for everyday people. In Chinatown, family-run shops that have been part of the community for generations are struggling to survive. And when hostility toward China drives policy, it too often leads to racism against the Asian American community. These policies aren’t just bad economics – they’re bad for Asian Americans.”

Karen Liu, second-generation owner of a Chinatown family business, Grand Tea and Imports (on Grand Street), said, “almost every business in Chinatown is an import business in some way. These tariffs threaten our ability to restock – and for many of our neighbors, their ability to stay open. As we move through this uncertain time, I hope policymakers remember Chinatown. We shouldn’t have to face this alone.”

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