By Alexander Lee • February 21, 2025 •
Ivy Liu
Content creators’ side businesses are feeling the heat of the Trump tariffs.
Many creators bolster their advertising and brand partnership income by selling goods and products that are relevant to their niche or audience. These businesses often rely on foreign materials or manufacturing to stay afloat — and thus the Donald Trump administration’s tariffs, which impose an additional 10 percent duty on Chinese imports, have led to an increase in creators’ business costs.
Last month, video creator Matt Steffanina pushed back the launch of his apparel brand MadChill due to uncertainty over the future of TikTok Shop. Following the institution of Trump’s tariffs, Steffanina had to delay the launch further in order to find a new — and more expensive — manufacturer that operated entirely outside of China.
“The provider that I use is 50 percent in America and 50 percent in China,” he said. “So, yeah, we’re trying to get everything that we do made in the U.S. so that it’s just easier across the board, especially on delivery times and everything like that.”
YouTuber Tyler “Antenna Man” Kleinle, whose content focuses on the installation of television antennas, is gearing up to launch his own signal meter product in 2025. His supplier is located in China, so he plans to price the product more aggressively than initially anticipated due to the tariff.
“With my signal meter, there are additional costs beyond the price of the produc