Global alarm over tariffs ignores the coordinated economic harm inflicted on small enterprises during pandemic lockdowns.
Tariff Battle Hypocrisy
As world leaders and media cry foul over the latest U.S. tariffs, some business owners are asking a blunt question: Did anyone care about destroying the economy when small business was the target?
The new U.S. tariff measures, mostly aimed at sectors where foreign subsidies distort trade, sparked predictable outcry. Allies including Australia and the UK expressed concern, warning of “global economic harm” and calling for restraint. Business councils and trade ministers echoed the same refrain: disruption, uncertainty, and retaliation.
But while governments now rush to defend multinational corporations and export markets, few seem willing to revisit the recent past — when small businesses were forcibly shuttered, employees stood down, and entire industries were deemed “non-essential.”
Unlike tariffs, which are often short-lived and negotiable, the COVID response delivered sustained damage to main streets across the world. Restaurants, independent retailers, salons and service operators bore the brunt of lockdown orders and public health mandates. Many closed permanently. Others are still clawing their way back.
“Tariffs might shift costs or disrupt supply chains,” said one former small business owner, “but lockdowns wiped out livelihoods.”
Adjustments
Trade tensions, unlike hard closures, leave room for adjustment. Countries can revise subsidies, adapt supply routes, or negotiate temporary carve-outs. Past disputes have shown how quickly this can happen — often within weeks or months. In contrast, entire urban strips were emptied during the pandemic with no recourse and little public debate.
Critics argue the current wave of tariff outrage smacks of hypocrisy. When small businesses were being decimated, few international bodies issued strongly worded statements. Media coverage focused on infection rates, not the silent collapse of entrepreneurship.
In some countries, notably Australia and the UK, governments appear slow to realise that adapting to U.S. economic policy doesn’t require confrontation. Nations like Mexico, Zimbabwe, and Vietnam are already moving to align their exports to avoid penalty and gain market share.
Fading Issue
The current tariff issue will likely blow over, just as it has in the past. What won’t fade so quickly is the lasting damage of policies that treated small businesses as expendable.
For those who lived through that economic erasure, the present moral panic over tariffs rings hollow.
