U.S. tariffs continue to push up local prices, and many small and medium-sized enterprises are facing a cold winter. An Asian supermarket founded by a Hong Kong immigrant family and operating in Florida for 43 years recently said it planned to close due to skyrocketing import costs. The shop owner, Mr. John Wong, has claimed to be an “invader” for many years. He also voted for Trump in 2024. He originally thought that tariffs would help lower prices, but he did not expect that they would now become a source of pressure. The business that the family has worked hard for decades has come to a critical point.
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The Asian supermarket “Wong Kai Company” in Bradenton, Florida, was founded by the three Hong Kong immigrant brothers in the 1980s. It has always been one of the few local stores where you can buy Asian vegetables and seasonings. It is very popular among Filipino, Vietnamese and Chinese communities and has a good business. However, as the United States has significantly expanded tariffs on Asian countries, almost all imported goods in the store have been affected.
Mr. Wong accepted the local media NPRttan, in recent months the price of “all rose 35%”, the Mapo tofu sauce, for example, last year’s stock price of $ 2.75, earlier this year rose to $ 3.95, the latest batch even sold $ 5, criticized the stock price “completely not”
Many customers know that after the supermarket may close, hope the Wong brothers return to their hearts, Mr. Wong said, “A lot of customers say ‘Mr. Wong, you don’t close the business,’, I said I would try, but very difficult.
Huang Qi Company has large warehouses in Florida. (Facebook: Wong Kai Imports)” loading=”lazy” height=”720″ width=”960″ class=”yf-1gfnohs loader”/>The most ironic, Mr. Wong admitted that he was in support of Trump during the 2024 U.S. election, the reason why “targeting tariffs would make American things cheaper.” But now the cost of food imports is surged, however, the opposite is the opposite, from chili sauce to rice flour, “everything … it keeps going up.” (Everything keeps raising prices).
Although the White House claims that the tariffs “ultimately will be paid by foreign exporters” and emphasizes that the policy can stimulate “Made in the United States,” for small stores like Huang Qi’s company that rely on imported food from Asia, the tariffs directly become a cost and there is ultimately no way to avoid it. Large supermarket chains such as Walmart and Publix can still absorb part of the increase, but small family supermarkets cannot afford it, and their living space is becoming increasingly narrow.
Marilyn McKibben, a Filipino customer, told a local reporter that when she cooks sinigang, her hometown soup, she must buy sampalok (sour beans), and Huang Qi’s is the only supermarket nearby where she can buy it. If Huang Qi’s company eventually closes down, Bradenton’s Asian community will lose the only store that comprehensively supplies Asian ingredients, and many people will have to drive long distances to other cities to buy it.
Mr. Huang recalled that when his family immigrated from Hong Kong, they relied on hard work for more than 40 years to gain a foothold in the United States. Unexpectedly, they were now succumbed to policy fluctuations. He said the most poignant words: “Is that American dream? I don’t think so.” (Is this the American dream? I don’t agree.)
For many new immigrants to Hong Kong, the experience of this Asian supermarket in Florida may be a reflection of the structural difficulties faced by small Chinese shops in the United States. The “American Dream” hit by soaring prices, tariffs, rents and competitive pressures is not something everyone can afford.
In response to inquiries from the New York Post, a White House spokesperson later defended the tariff policy, emphasizing that the government has always believed that the cost of tariffs “will ultimately be borne by foreign exporters who rely on the U.S. market.” He pointed out that the United States is “the largest and best consumer market in the world” and that the tariff measures are aimed at promoting new trade agreements and attracting trillions (trillions) of dollars of investment back to the United States.
However, after losing local elections in three states earlier, the Trump administration announced last week that it would cancel tariffs on coffee, bananas and some food and textile products from four Latin American countries to ease the cost of living for American consumers. It seems to be trying to regain the support of switching voters; however, Huang’s Supermarket, which imports mostly goods from China, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, was not able to benefit from this adjustment.
