Zumbrota business struggling with tariffs says it has received its tariff repayment
(ABC 6 News) — A Zumbrota business is on the receiving end of a nearly $50,000 paycheck thanks to the Tariff Repayment Program. 2025 Small Business Person of the Year Beth Benike, the owner of Busy Baby, announced this week her payment came in. Busy Baby makes baby products made of silicone, and Benike said her […]
(ABC 6 News) — A Zumbrota business is on the receiving end of a nearly $50,000 paycheck thanks to the Tariff Repayment Program. 2025 Small Business Person of the Year Beth Benike, the owner of Busy Baby, announced this week her payment came in. Busy Baby makes baby products made of silicone, and Benike said her business was hit hard by tariffs, forcing her to find new suppliers in order to try to make ends meet. Related:Tariffs continue to impact a local businessRelated:Zumbrota business owner, representative speak on tariffs’ small business impactsHowever, after the Supreme Court ruled some of President Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal, Benike was able to recoup some of her losses from the $50,000 payment. Benike said the repayment brought some much-needed relief. “I feel like there’s brighter days ahead. The tariff saga for the last 16 months has been so hard, and this product was an effort to cut costs, reduce packaging, find efficiencies. So to have done that and then have it be awarded just makes everything feel a little bit sunnier,” she said. Despite this relief, many tariffs remain in effect, which is something Benike says is still weighing on small businesses. “The majority of tariffs that are still in effect today, they’re impacting us. They’re impacting American small businesses. It’s not the other country paying the tariff. It’s not the majority. But these big companies that have exemptions. So tariffs do severely impact our local economy, our local small businesses. And I hope people will keep that in mind when they vote,” she said. Despite the strain, Busy Baby has continued expanding internationally into several countries as a head against U. S. trade policy volatility. For Related Stories:Busy Babytariffs