North Carolina small business owners on how tariffs are negatively impacting their bottom line

By: Clayton Henkel

Outlets: North Carolina Newsline

Published: February 16, 2026

Words: 146

Last Updated: 1 week, 3 days ago

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If you celebrated Valentine’s Day over the weekend, chances are you noted that tariffs are driving up the cost of flowers, chocolates, and many other items associated with the holiday.

Many of the products that define Valentine’s rely heavily on imports. The United States imports nearly all the cacao used to make chocolate, primarily from West Africa, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador. About 80 percent of cut flowers sold in the U.S. are …

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