Local Businesses Were Hit Hard by Tariffs. Now They Want A Refund.

KQED's Forum

KQED

News Commentary, News, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When the Supreme Court invalidated a tranche of Trump’s tariffs last month, businesses around the country and world began clamoring for a refund. To date, 2,000 lawsuits from businesses seeking refunds have been filed, and reports estimate that the administration may owe $175 billion in refunds to the 300,000 entities that were slapped with the now-illegal tax. We talk about how local businesses are responding, the impact on consumers, and how despite this court ruling, tariffs are here to stay. Guests: Zoe Tillman, senior reporter covering law and politics, Bloomberg News Alfred Mai, owner, ASM Games; co-inventor of the card games "Do You Really Know Your Family?" and "These Cards Will Get You Drunk" Daniel Desrochers, international trade reporter, Politico Lauren Crabbe, co-founder and co-owner, Andytown Coffee Deborah Baldini, owner, Biordi - retailer based in North Beach that sells imported Italian decor and art Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from Landmark College, offering summer programs for high schoolers that support executive function and transition to college skills. Learn more at landmark.edu slash summer.
0:14.7	Support for this podcast comes from Bioners. Their annual event is coming up March 26th through the 28th in Berkeley.
0:23.4	Three days of community, solidarity, inspiring speakers, movement building, arts, and music, and more.
0:31.1	For more information, visit bioners.org slash KQED.
0:36.4	From KQED. From KQED.
0:39.5	Welcome to Forum.
0:40.8	I'm Alexis Madrigal.
0:42.3	If you import goods from outside the country, you have had a difficult year.
0:46.9	Since last April, the Trump administration has been applying all kinds of tariffs to different
0:51.2	items from different countries.
0:53.1	You might imagine this car, steel, coffee, semiconductor chips,
0:57.0	but when we did a show on these tariffs last year,
1:00.0	we learned so much about all the different things
1:03.0	Bay Area businesses bring stateside.
1:06.0	It wasn't just commodities, but products they designed themselves
1:09.0	but had produced in, say, China.
1:11.4	All these different companies, the coffee importers, the FedEx, locals, could maybe get a
1:17.7	refund now that the Supreme Court has ruled last year's version of the tariffs were legal.
1:22.8	So this morning, we begin our show with one of those small businesses.
1:27.4	Alfred Mai is owner of ASM Games, co-inventure of the card games.
1:31.8	Do you really know your family?
1:33.4	And these cards will get you drunk.
	...

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