Tariffs hit hard in immigrant communities across tri-state area
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JACKSON HEIGHTS, Queens (PIX11) -- A common comparison in analyses of financial markets is between Wall Street and Main Street.
In the Jackson Heights neighborhood in Queens, which is made up mostly of immigrants from India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and other South Asian countries, the main street is 37th Avenue. In shops, boutiques and grocery stores there, the effect of President Donald Trump's tariffs -- or the expectation of them -- is palpable.
"Prices [are] higher, everything is higher," said Helal Euddin, as he shopped for produce at a neighborhood grocery store which, like so many food markets and supermarkets in the tri-state area, receives a wide variety of goods from abroad. "But income," Euddin added, with his hand making a flat gesture, "is always still one place."
He was among many people reacting to tariffs that are particularly high for goods from some of the South Asian countries from which local residents hail. The president has ordered a 37% tariff on goods from Bangladesh, a 27% tariff on imports from India, and a 30% tariff on all goods from Pakistan.
Mahabbur Rahman is the owner of Sriti Boutique on 37th Avenue. Labels on its hundreds of items of clothing show that the shop sells high-end goods from the South Asian countries facing the tariff hikes.
"Definitely, our costs are going up," Rahman said in an interview. "That's true."
Rahman is also the president of the Jackson Heights Bangladeshi Merchants Association. He said that he and other local small business owners are first and foremost Americans, so even though they are facing price hikes and slower business due to the new tariffs, "We have to follow this country's president, no matter what," he said.
"Whatever his decision," Rahman continued, "we have to accept this, because we are living here. We have to follow him."
One street over from Rahman's business is Lavanya Boutique, a clothing store that's been at the same location in Jackson Heights since 1968. Its founder, Shiv Dass, still operates the shop, and is also the president of the Jackson Heights Indian Merchants Association. He said that he voted for Trump and now feels that the president needs to know that the tariffs are making an anxiety-producing situation for immigrants worse.
Dass listed a variety of issues that are having a compounded effect on the Jackson Heights community.
"Inflation is there, immigration is there, [and] tariffs, I don't know what else is coming," he said. As a result, he added, there's a chilling effect for small businesses like his, and for the customers he serves. "People are scared to spend money," he said.