Through March of 2025, Manhattan’s Chinatown seemed to operate as per usual. A flurry of New Yorkers scurried across the crowded three-block enclosure at its core. Some ran through their weekend errands: restocking on a week’s worth of groceries at New Kam Man, buying a new budding money tree at G&J Florist, or searching for a bitter herb cure for a persistent cold at Ton Ren Herb Supply. Others enjoyed a family dim sum at Ping’s before picking up breakfast for the following day–roast pork and pineapple buns from Mei Lai Wah.
Although customers enjoyed their usual prices, business owners were in a state of panic behind closed doors.
On February 1st, 2025, just 14 days after his inauguration, President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a 10% tariff on imports from China, and a 25% tariff on imports from Mexico and Canada. This was in an effort to honor his campaign promises of securing the United States border from illegal “aliens and drugs.” The announcement declared that the tariffs on China would only be suspended if China took appropriate actions to alleviate the opioid crisis, though specific measures and actions were not discussed.
While President Trump sought to prevent the influx of supposedly dangerous Chinese nationals, multigenerational business owners in New York City’s Chinatown have been watching tensely as their long-standing family institutions face a new and imminent threat. It would add to the uncertainties in which they operate: gentrification pressures, anti-Asian sentiment, broken lines of succession, and urban development.
To make matters worse, Manhattan’s Chinatown has been in a fragile state of recovery since the Coronavirus pandemic. Less than five years ago, restaurants and shops across the neighborhood shuttered their windows, with Chinatown losing 26% of its jobs. Even as the city around them recovered, only 46% of Chinatown’s restaurants reopened. “Chinatown is bleeding,” said Wellington Chen, the executive director of Chinatown Partnership.
At its heart, Chinatown is a community of people with the common goal of preserving the cultures and traditions most important to them. They are parents, grandparents, and children who work to support their families. In Chinatown, there is a mutual respect and understanding present. Whether it is between business competitors, suppliers and businesses, or businesses and consumers, people know to put tradition above competition.
Thus, distributors are reluctant to increase the prices of goods and supplies. Businesses are reluctant to pass these costs on to customers. Both are trying to absorb the increase in costs, pushing their limits until they cannot afford to stay afloat.
Christina Seid is a second-generation owner of the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory on Mott Street, which has been in operation since 1977. Their ice cream is made fresh with locally sourced ingredients, but their imported supplies–everything from ice cream cups, utensils, and ice cream cake boxes–will be impacted by Trump’s trade war with China. For one, although the manufacturer is based in California, their signature yellow, dragon-adorned cups are printed in Taiwan. “They’re trying to keep the prices low, but at the same time, because we’ve done business with them for a long time, we also have to be understanding, because if they have big price increases, we expect it to be passed down to us. We can’t be unreasonable,” Seid told a reporter at KSBY News.
The struggle between keeping prices low in spite of rising costs has discouraged many distributors from continuing operations. Cory Ng, the owner of Phoenix Palace on Bowery Street, told a reporter at CBS News that his suppliers are considering a temporary cease of operations. “They’re calling each other. They’re asking the question, ‘Hey, what are you going to do?’ And no one has the right answer because it changes every day,” Ng said.
On March 4th, 2025, Trump doubled the tariffs on Chinese imports to 20%. This ended the period of intense speculation that plagued Chinatown since Trump’s first 10% tariff, forcing the neighborhood into a hoarding war.
Tucked away on Doyers Street, Taiwan Pork Chop House has been serving hearty Taiwanese comfort food since the early 2000s. Known for its signature pork chop over rice and nostalgic canteen-style setup, the family-run eatery has long been a go-to for locals seeking familiar flavors at affordable prices.
But today, owner Andy Wang has had to make tough logistical choices just to stay in business. “I have to stock up so I can keep operation costs stable for as long as possible,” he told a reporter at Financial Times, motioning to the overflowing basement filled with bulk ingredients ranging from rice wine to plastic containers. In response to the hoarding war between businesses, wholesalers had begun to set rationing measures. Thus, even though Wang ordered six boxes of microwaving bowls, he only received one box. Wang is just one of many business owners who have begun panic-buying supplies in bulk, competing with each other to secure inventory before further price hikes. “Everyone is hoarding,” he said.
On April 2nd, 2025, President Trump unveiled his “Liberation Day” universal tariffs, adding a 34% tariff on Chinese goods atop the existing 20%, bringing the total to 54%. On April 4th, 2025, China retaliated with a 34% tariff on all U.S. imports, effective April 10th, 2025. Four days later, on April 8th, 2025, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 104%. In response, China raised tariffs to 84%, prompting Trump to hike U.S. tariffs again to 125%. “Based on the lack of respect that China has shown to the world’s markets, I am hereby raising the tariff charged to China by the United States of America to 125%, effective immediately,” Trump said. On April 11th, 2025, China matched the 125% rate and stated it would no longer respond to future increases.
Trump’s volatile tariff policies have left businesses particularly vulnerable, including Grand Tea & Imports. The shop has served the Chinatown community for nearly two decades, offering traditional Chinese teas, herbal remedies, and household goods. Owned by Karen Liu and her family, Grand Tea & Imports is more than just a business—it’s a cultural touchstone, drawing generations of Chinese American families looking for the same teas their grandparents drank. “Almost every business in Chinatown is an import business in some way,” Liu said. “We’re not just selling tea—we’re sharing culture. And now that’s becoming harder and harder to do.”
Eliz Digital Inc., a modest photo and printing shop on Canal Street in Manhattan, has been capturing family portraits and printing passport photos since the 1990s. Owned by a husband-and-wife duo who immigrated from Hong Kong, the store has witnessed Chinatown’s changing skyline and shifting demographics through the lens of its camera. But today, the rising cost of film, printer ink, and digital components—all of which are imported or reliant on Chinese parts—threatens to shutter their storefront. “We’re a small shop. We can’t compete if the price of everything goes up,” the owner said. What was once a stable neighborhood business is now on the edge of vanishing, caught in the crosshairs of a global trade war.
A few doors down, Popular Jewelry has been serving the Chinatown community for decades, offering a range of gold and jade pieces that hold cultural significance. Eva Sam, the owner of Popular Jewelry, reported a 50% drop in sales. With gold and jade sourced from China, the tariffs have disrupted her supply chain and alienated price-sensitive customers.
Similarly, M.D. Ali, who runs a local shop where 60% of products come from China, has seen distributor prices jump by 30%. “I already raised the price because they’re going to charge me more. Of course, I’m going to charge more for my customers,” Ali explained, noting that even with price hikes, profits are dwindling.
On May 12th, 2025, the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a 90-day pause on escalations with China and reduced the 125% tariff to 10%. However, the damage had already been done. For Chinatown, it wasn’t just about the hikes—it was about the whiplash. The unpredictability of federal policy has created an environment of constant anxiety for business owners already stretched thin. In a community where tradition is passed through flavors, family-owned storefronts, and familiar rituals, instability threatens more than just profit margins. It threatens cultural continuity.
Even if prices stabilize, the trust in a dependable future has been fractured, leaving Chinatown’s legacy businesses more vulnerable than ever. In the end, it’s not the tariffs alone that endanger this neighborhood–it is the volatility that makes it hard for its culture to endure.
On May 12th, 2025, the Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a 90-day pause on escalations with China and reduced the 125% tariff to 10%. However, the damage had already been done. For Chinatown, it wasn’t just about the hikes—it was about the whiplash. The unpredictability of federal policy has created an environment of constant anxiety for business owners already stretched thin. In a community where tradition is passed through flavors, family-owned storefronts, and familiar rituals, instability threatens more than just profit margins. It threatens cultural continuity.