For this toy shop owner, tariff uncertainty means retirement is "off the table"

It’s been about a week since the federal government began accepting applications to refund businesses for tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court. The U.S. government is expected to pay out more than $166 billion. But tariffs aren’t a thing of the past; the president imposed a temporary 10% levy on imports following the Supreme Court’s decision.

That on-again, off-again policy can make it tough to run a small business.

Joann Cartiglia runs The Queen’s Treasures, a toy and doll shop in upstate New York. She said tariffs have upended her plans for the future. “My husband got a plow truck and was plowing driveways for extra money — he’s 67. Our life has done a 180,” Cartiglia told Marketplace’s Sabri Ben-Achour.

The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Sabri Ben-Achour: So tell us about the dolls and toys that you sell. What are they like? Where do they come from?

Joann Cartiglia: We design everything here, and we use factories in China to manufacture. We do dolls with hand-painted faces and hand-sewn bodies, hand-sewn wigs. We do all kinds of doll accessories. We do historic-based toys, very high quality — the ones you put in the attic for the next generation, not throwing in a landfill.

Ben-Achour: Very cool. So, how big was your tariff bill over the past year?

Cartiglia: It was not as big as it would have been, because I was unable to go into production. I did not have a cash reserve of an extra 30% — on top of my cost of goods — to pay the government. A toy company is an interesting model because we lose money every month of the year, except for November and December. So I brought in only what I knew would sell through.

With the volatility of tariffs, everybody was waiting for it to settle down. So everybody that had Christmas-related sales waited to ship, and then there was another mini shipping crisis.

Ben-Achour: Yeah.

Cartiglia: But I'm awaiting about $15,000 in tariff [refunds]. I'm a small guy because I chose — without really having a choice — not to manufacture as much as I need it.

Ben-Achour: Yeah. Well, so how is the refund process going?

Cartiglia: Umm, it's complicated. You have to register on a website for access. They're going to be taking care of the large refunds before they hit the small ones, so that means I'll be waiting.

Ben-Achour: Yeah. Has anyone given you an idea of how long that wait might be?

Cartiglia: Not at all, because you don't get communication.

Ben-Achour: Yeah.

Cartiglia: This email I just got says, “Thank you for contacting us…” Blah, blah, blah.

Ben-Achour: Yeah.

Cartiglia: Even though I have had a payer number with customs for 20 years, they have access to my account, to ACH money, to customs. I don't understand why, since the tariff is related to my ACH number, we would have to go through this crazy process. You have my account information. Just refund me! But it's not that easy.

Ben-Achour: Yeah. Are you confident that you will get the refund you're looking for?

Cartiglia: In this business environment, I am confident of nothing. You know, we are at 10% tariffs again. I'm told he's going to re-up that. I'm told they're going to raise it to 15% — which is the most that he can levy. I'm doing this 20 years, and before that I had a gift company. I'm old. I've seen it all. I'm going to be 65. I've never in my life felt so unsure about owning a brand.

Ben-Achour: You mentioned this before, but remind me — how much are you hoping to get back?

Cartiglia: About $15,000.

Ben-Achour: Is that all of what you paid, or is that like a fraction of what you paid?

Cartiglia: I have one shipment that was handled by my factory in China. So I know what I paid directly, but my last bill, I have to work with my factory in China to get a refund. They handle the shipping for me.

Ben-Achour: I see. So this is only part of what you paid?

Cartiglia: Exactly, exactly.

Ben-Achour: The tariffs that you experienced, they're gone. But tariffs, in general, are not right? The president has a lot of options for additional tariffs he might impose. You kind of have a sense of what this year is going to look like?

Cartiglia: Honestly, I can't say that I do, because every day is a new issue. We are still paying tariffs. I don't feel confident about anything right now.

Ben-Achour: You were thinking about retirement, I understand. Are you still thinking about doing that?

Cartiglia: That's been kind of taken off the table. You know, I have an Economic Injury [Disaster] Loan that the government was wonderful and gave out during the shipping crisis post-COVID. This EIDL loan that I have is a personal guarantee. So even if I declared bankruptcy, I will have a judgment and owe the government more than my Social Security check would be. I am in the scariest financial situation of my life. I've never been late on a payment. This month, I'm a little late on my EIDL loan — I'm not in a 30-day period, but I need some money to come in. And my husband and I are doing absolutely everything we can to cover our expenses.

So I Airbnb my house, my beautiful home. My husband and I sleep in the camper in the summer that we planned on hiking our way into retirement. My husband got a plow truck and was plowing driveways for extra money — he's 67. Our life has done a 180. It's been a battle, and all I want to do is produce high-quality, history-based toys that kids will learn from and enjoy playing with.