By Ben Cox
President Donald Trump enacted a series of protective tariffs affecting nearly all imported goods into the United States starting in early April. Higher tariffs were imposed on 57 countries and territories on April 9.
On April 15, Senator Dick Durbin held a roundtable discussion at the Carpenters Local 720 in Springfield. Serious Lip Balm co-owner Khara Koffel and Illinois Retail Merchants Association President Rob Karr, both Jacksonville residents, were at the table to discuss the impacts of the tariffs on small business.
Koffel says that Serious Lip Balm has always had a presence in the Springfield area because it belonged to a small business incubator at University of Illinois-Springfield called Innovate Springfield. The business now ships everywhere and has its own offices, but the relationships with the Springfield small business community have remained. Koffel says longtime friend Gordon Davis of the Whimsy Tea Company met with Governor JB Pritzker recently and put Koffel in touch with the Illinois Retail Merchants Association and Karr. Karr then invited Koffel and other small businesses to visit with Durbin.
Koffel says that Serious Lip Balm is a good example for small businesses and what will happen to prices and product availability with the tariffs in place. “Itʼs going to be a bit delayed with the effects,” Koffel says, “The week that the tariff war started, we started seeing informational banners on websites that we order [materials] from stating that certain supplies are going to be limited due to the impending, ever-changing tariff situation.”
The vendors, she says, are reserving the right to cancel orders en masse in order to preserve supply or in some cases distribute their own products equally. Koffel says that Serious Lip Balm is in a good position for the time being because they order most of their products from American manufacturers. However, because of the global supply chain, a domino effect could occur causing those vendors that Serious Lip Balm orders from to no longer be able to fulfill their orders. “Itʼs a trickle down. Itʼs the global supply chain,” Koffel says. “We are just another part of it. Depending upon how that gets affected, and not even maybe where it is coming from but if there are issues at ports or issues with different tariff situations and people get backed up. You never know. It will be the container crisis all over again that happened right after COVID.”
Serious Lip Balm does ship to some of the countries that were hit with the protection tariffs. Koffel says those orders have not been hit just yet, but she expects by June when orders for those countries come in that they will be greatly reduced or canceled.
Koffel says that the tariffs will really hurt the most for their display builders in South Carolina who import their wood from overseas and Canada, printing for their labels and their lip balm tubes. “The tubes and the containers are the lionʼs share of the cost,” Koffel says, “We order labels and things in large enough supply that individually it brings the price down a lot, but the containers, thatʼs going to be hard. Currently, we have enough stuff to sort of pull us through for a while, but Iʼd say within the next couple of months, if there is an issue, we are going to feel it.”
Currently, a bundle of three lip balm tubes has a retail price for $14 on their website. Koffel says that the community at large continues to support their business both financially and with encouragement.
For more information or to order Serious Lip Balm, visit seriouslipbalm.com.
