{"id":119,"date":"2026-05-19T22:08:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:08:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=119"},"modified":"2026-05-19T22:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T22:08:50","slug":"im-not-afraid-tariff-hit-toy-store-owner-vows-to-risk-jail-to-stand-up-to-trump","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propertyrelocationusa.com\/?p=119","title":{"rendered":"‘I’m not afraid’: Tariff-hit toy store owner vows to risk jail to stand up to Trump"},"content":{"rendered":"

After weathering years of challenges, from online competition to the COVID pandemic, President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs became \u201cthe last reason\u201d why Jennifer Bergman decided to close down the New York City toy store her mother opened in 1981.<\/p>

Read more \u2018Oh my god!\u2019 Senator blows up at Sean Duffy as hearing devolves into chaos<\/a><\/p>

As small businesses currently navigate a complex tariff refund <\/u>process and still face rising costs, Bergman, 59, is one of five business owners speaking out in a new $200,000 YouTube ad campaign launched<\/u> Wednesday by Small Businesses Against Tariffs, a project from the Defending Democracy Together Institute, an advocacy group formed by anti-Trump conservatives. <\/p>

\u201cI’m not afraid of [Trump]. I’m not afraid of his goons, and if they want to throw us all into jail because we’re saying things against them, that’s fine by me,\u201d Bergman told Raw Story.<\/p>

\u201cMy parents would be really proud of me, and they’d bail me out if they were still around. Actually, they’d be right there with me in jail.\u201d<\/p>

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\"Jennifer<\/figure>\n Jennifer Bergman (provided photo)<\/small><\/p>

Bergman closed her store, West Side Kids, in July after she realized she wasn\u2019t going to be able to pay her rent or make payroll. <\/p>

\u201dI\u2019d never had that before, ever, ever,\u201d she said.<\/p>

Over the years, Bergman\u2019s staff shrunk from 12 employees to four. Those four people lost their jobs when the store closed and struggled to find new ones, with one even becoming unhoused, Bergman said.<\/p>

When Trump added a 145 percent tariff on China last year, Bergman said a $10 toy she\u2019d typically sell for $20 would need to be marked up to $45 to cover the extra costs since she couldn’t \u201cafford to eat any of it.\u201d <\/p>

The price of a scooter she\u2019d typically sell for $150 shot up to $180 when her supplier called to say they needed to reroute shipping containers to Canada and raise prices after Trump announced tariffs last May.<\/p>

\u201cPrices were going up, and you only have a finite amount of money to spend,\u201d Bergman said. <\/p>

\u201cThe product was getting so much more expensive that I was spending more money for less.\u201d<\/p>