COMES NEXT. MARY. YEAH, JEN, YOU KNOW, THE PRESIDENT MIGHT THINK THINGS ARE GOING WELL, BUT A LOT OF SMALL BUSINESSES WOULD DISAGREE. TONIGHT WE ARE AT CLEM’S, A FAMILY BUSINESS FOR OVER 75 YEARS, AND THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT THESE MASSIVE SWEEPING TARIFFS. WE ARE A 70,000 SQUARE FOOT RETAIL STORE SELLING EVERYTHING FROM HARDWARE, OUTDOOR POWER, PETS AND SUPPLIES, LAWN AND GARDEN. AS THE OWNER OF A THIRD GENERATION FAMILY BUSINESS, JESSICA BETTENCOURT HAS SEEN A LOT OF ECONOMIC UPS AND DOWNS AND IS NOW BRACING FOR A ROUGH RIDE AHEAD. WE ANTICIPATE A LOT OF THINGS ARE GOING TO GO UP. I MEAN, EVEN A US MADE PRODUCT COULD HAVE COMPONENTS THAT ULTIMATELY HAVE HIT A TARIFF COMING INTO THE US. BETTENCOURT SAYS THE PRODUCTS YOU NEED FOR SPRING, WELL, THEY’RE ALREADY IN STOCK. IT’S THE ITEMS CLEM STOCKS FOR CHRISTMAS AND FALL THAT SHE’S NERVOUS ABOUT. IT’S GOING TO BE FALL APPAREL, FALL FOOTWEAR. THOSE VENDORS CAN’T CHANGE THEIR SUPPLY CHAIN FAST ENOUGH TO GET IT ANYWHERE ELSE. THEY’RE ALREADY COMMITTED. LIKE MANY RETAILERS, BETTENCOURT IS LOOKING TO STOCKPILE QUICKLY, HOPING TO MITIGATE THE PAIN FOR CUSTOMERS. EXPERTS SAY JUST HOW MUCH AMERICANS SUFFER DEPENDS ON HOW LONG THE TRUMP TARIFFS LAST. IF THIS IS A NEGOTIATION TACTIC AND IT’S SHORT TERM, IT’S GOING TO LAST A MONTH OR SOMETHING. THAT’S ONE SCENARIO, RIGHT? WE’RE PROBABLY OKAY IF IT’S LONGER TERM AND WE REALLY ARE RELYING ON INCOME FROM TARIFFS. IT’S GOING TO BE MORE OF AN ISSUE THAT COULD COULD EVENTUALLY LEAD US TO A MILD RECESSION. ARE YOU WORRIED ABOUT RECESSION? YEAH, SURE. ABSOLUTELY. NOW PRESIDENT TRUMP INSISTS THESE HIGH TARIFFS WILL BRING MANUFACTURING BACK TO THE U.S., BUT INDUSTRY EXPERTS SAY THAT COULD TAKE YEARS AND WOULD STILL DRIVE UP THE PRICES ACROSS THE BOARD BECAUSE OF THE HIGHER COST OF U.S. LABOR. WE’RE LIV