As part of the ongoing attempt to address the trade deficit, the Trump Administration is working to leverage better trade deals with other countries – including China. As negotiations continue and the President implements and reverses course on tariffs for imported products, small businesses and American consumers are caught in the crossfire and have seen their purchasing options increasingly limited.
It is important that non-problematic domestics companies do not end up getting harmed by a trade war. We all hope the Trump Administration will eventually leverage better trade deals which will benefit American consumers and aid the American economy to create more jobs, but there will be some pain until those agreements are finalized. In the interim, it is important to minimize that pain to consumers and to allow companies that pose no risk to national security to operate fairly in a free market.
There have been some victories for the Trump Administration on trade because of the pressure. Politico reported on July 4, 2025, “Beijing and Washington are following through on an agreement struck last month in London to lift restrictions on exports of items essential for industrial production, as both sides look to cool a global trade war.” The agreement by China was to approve applications for export licenses and the U.S. side has agreed to cancel some measures that are restrictive of Chinese imports. There seems to be progress, yet some on both sides are still subject to restrictions that may end up critically injuring or causing bankruptcy for some companies.
American small businesses are struggling under the pressure of tariffs. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce quoted Aabesh De, the CEO of the company Flora in Nashville, TN, who argued “small businesses like mine create American jobs, but we can’t survive when tariffs make it prohibitively expensive to operate. Trade supports American prosperity—these tariffs are undermining it.” Yahoo Finance reported in May that “overall, the tax on imports has jumped from an average of 2.5% before Trump took office to about 18%. That’s the highest average tariff since the 1930s.” Small businesses need relief from tariffs in a targeted fashion so they can survive if they rely on imports to conduct business.
Tariffs are not the only potential danger for American consumers. A privately owned technology and commercial drone manufacturer DJI, operating out of China today, is one company targeted in the trade war. DJI is a company that manufactures civilian drones, which are essentially flying cameras used by hobbyists, first responders, farmers, and small business owners. The company also manufactures cinema camera systems widely used by the film industry.
However, in the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, a provision was added that mandated a designated national security agency of the federal government conduct a risk assessment of DJI products within one year of enactment. Per Section 1709, if no review is done, then the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will place the company on the “covered list,” thus banning new DJI products in the U.S. A recent poll of drone small business owners found that 67% of small businesses which currently use drones would close if they no longer had access to drones that could be banned.
A ban is also a problem for public safety and consumer access. On public safety, DJI drones are used to support law enforcement operations, border security measures, firefighting, and research and rescue missions. For consumers, the company’s drones are the most popular commercially available drone in the market today. As a side note, if you enjoyed the new F1 movie, the cameras produced by DJI were used extensively in the filming of that movie. The bottom line is that they produce a popular product which saves lives and is enjoyed by countless American consumers.
However, DJI is actively requesting the audit, because the company believes they will pass a fair and balanced inquiry. The company has had past audits conducted by companies such as Booz Allen Hamilton, FTI Consulting, and Kivu Consulting, as well as the U.S. Department of Interior. A problematic company would not ask the federal government to investigate them if they were not confident of the result of a fair process.
The bottom line is that the trade war between China and the United States will result in business casualties and limits to consumer choice. However, a targeted solution to rectify trade imbalances would be much better than banning products that pose no risk to national security and imposing tariffs on imports that put American small businesses at risk.