Vendors at Rochester Pride share mixed thoughts on tariffs
(ABC 6 News) – A field showcasing the colors of the rainbow took over Soldier’s Memorial Field Park for Rochester’s annual pride festival.
As people moseyed their way across the festival grounds, taking in the sights and sounds of queer artists, vendors showcased their products for people, hoping to bring in some money.
Some vendors said they were feeling a bit of a strain this year due to President Trump’s tariffs on China, while others said the tariffs are not terrible for them. One artist who uses the pen name “Foxy” said Rochester Pride is one of her biggest events as she often sells a lot of inventory.
“At the moment I’ve already sold more than I sold at other places this year,” Foxy said.
Foxy’s testimony is just one example for why Pride is a huge opportunity for vendors who are struggling to gather materials under President Trump’s tariffs on goods imported from China.
Chantelle Fedderson from MN Tiny Treasures said their business typically sources materials locally but tariffs make that tough.
Things as small as the paper and the tags we use have been more difficult to get locally,” Fedderson said.
The feelings vendors have come after President Trump temporarily rolled back his 145% tariff on goods from China to 30%.
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Foxy said tariffs have yet to become an issue for her but she is still preparing for the financial hit.
“I started buying stuff ahead of time, at the moment I’m stocked up pretty decent,” Foxy said.
Whereas Fedderson was left with making a difficult decision for how to go about sourcing materials.
“We either need to source not locally and go outside of our community and then spend less or be willing to spend a little bit more to keep it local,” Fedderson said.
Debbie Pestka sells pottery through her business Rooted Journey. She said she hasn’t observed much of a price increase in the clay material she uses.
“I don’t know where exactly they mine the clay from but I haven’t seen a rise in clay prices,” Pestka said.
And for Chazz Raddatz from PrideMajic, tariffs haven’t been much of an issue for him given his business makes all of its own products.
“All our vendors are stateside, we make it here so we don’t have to worry about sourcing anything in,” Raddatz said.
It’s all in an effort to keep prices low for the community.