Bay Area cuisine thrives on global flavors. Trump’s trade war puts that at risk

OAKLAND CHINATOWN It s hardly been worth it for restaurants here to invest in menus Stickers scrawled with handwritten prices are layered over laminated pages each marking the crises of latest years pandemic-era inflation and supply-chain issues increases to California s minimum wage and now sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods Restaurant owners are holding their breath as they wait to see whether President Donald Trump doubles down on his agreement war or pulls back The outcome is personal high tariffs could cut further into the restaurants already thin margins threatening their livelihood So far the tariffs have been unpredictable In April Trump placed import taxes ranging from to on other countries Then just a minimal hours after they went into effect Trump reversed program saying that the country-specific tariffs would be suspended for days to allow him to negotiate with deal partners But he left one major tariff in place a duty applying only to China It s all we re talking about all day commented Charles Hong the second-generation owner of the well-known Shandong Restaurant in an interview in Mandarin The impact really depends though our president changes his mind all the time He just did again During a White House press conference Tuesday Trump announced the tariffs for China would come down substantially but it won t be zero For Bay Area restaurants and markets that depend on imports the uncertainty is a source of daily headaches Charles Hong looks on as customers have lunch at his Shan Dong restaurant in Chinatown Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Hong for example sources several ingredients directly from China black fungus bamboo shoots crushed red chili peppers He worries that several of them may soon be in short supply his importer narrated him that shipments have stopped as they wait to see how the bargain war plays out No importer wants their shipping container to arrive on U S soil just before a reversal goes into effect We re holding onto the inventory we have Hong announced Eventually particular items will run out When that happens he ll have to take certain dishes off the menu like the black fungus and snow peas or the stir-fried beef and bamboo shoots Several businesses don t have the luxury of waiting for Trump to change his mind Ali Roth owner of the Blue Willow tea house in Berkeley was a scarce days out from leaving on her annual trip to China for the spring tea harvest when she typically buys of her entire inventory for the year Then Trump stated the tariffs Charles Hong cashes out a tab for a waitress's customer at his Shan Dong restaurant in Chinatown Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group A kitchen worker kneads flour and dough at Shan Dong restaurant in Chinatown Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group A kitchen worker kneads flour and dough at Shan Dong restaurant in Chinatown Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group A waitress delivers a dish for a customer at Shan Dong restaurant in Chinatown Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Charles Hong cashes out a tab for a waitress's customer at his Shan Dong restaurant in Chinatown Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group Expand Related Articles New restaurant featuring authentic Thai cuisine opens in Martinez Clark s Oyster Bar makes its Northern California debut terrific Bay Area sandwiches to try right now Bay Area coffee roasters hit with tariffs in perfect storm Brunch spot debuts in Foster City I have to spend all my money on inventory right now and it happens to coincide with a commerce war Roth mentioned over the phone from Guizhou where she has been visiting local tea farms The the bulk stressful part is that things can change at any moment based on the mood of one insane person Trump has explained the motivations for his business war as restoring domestic production to America But countless agricultural products like most of tea which necessities a humid subtropical situation can t be replicated here Even if Roth sources more tea from Japan she would still face a tariff there per the rates communicated by Trump before the pause Her matcha typically a pound would increase to a pound I m hoping I won t have to raise prices I don t want to feed into the inflation Rolf disclosed For now she s focusing on stocking fewer teas but ones that she knows are popular enough to sell I may have fewer specialty teas even if they re dear to me because I need to have teas I know I can sell somewhat fast she revealed Tom Kumamaru owner of Shuei-Do Manju Shop In San Jose s Japantown is facing a similar dilemma His sweet flaky manju buns are filled with Japanese azuki beans that are hard to find in the United States He anticipates that his suppliers will raise prices with his next orders If they start raising the prices of subject I m going to have to raise my price he revealed That s the only thing we could do because we have a slim profit margin Tom Kumamaru owner makes peanut butter manju at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group If Trump s tariffs raise prices as so a large number of economists have predicted small bakeries like his could be hard hit Desserts and confectionaries are a few of the first things shoppers give up when their disposable income is slashed It s going to get harder Kumamaru declared If the tariff war keeps going on like it is then you don t know what the end s going to be Tom Kumamaru owner makes peanut butter manju at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Tom Kumamaru owner makes peanut butter manju at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Red beans used to make manju are affected by tariffs at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Tom Kumamaru owner shows where beans are cooked at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Tom Kumamaru owner makes peanut butter manju at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group A child runs by Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Tom Kumamaru owner makes peanut butter manju at Shuei-Do Manju Shop in San Jose Calif on Friday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Expand Costs are going up for more than just food Danny Huang revealed that take-out and deliveries make up a major chunk of his sales at Hunan Taste in San Jose Countless packaging materials such as takeout boxes and bags are sourced from China he noted Their prices have also gone up or will soon It s not just Asian purveyors feeling the hurt Eli Garcia works at her family s store Eli s Produce Industry in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Eli s Produce Industry in San Jose opened last July and owners Beatriz Basa ez Garcia and her husband have stocked the shelves with products from around the world goods from Russia and Poland Latino products and avocados and jalapenos from Mexico They too say they could be forced to raise prices but are waiting to hear back from their suppliers There is nothing we can do if the vendors raise the prices Basa ez Garcia reported Basa ez Garcia declared that the big chains already get better prices because they buy products by the truckload while Eli s Produce Arena buys by the box and she thinks the tariffs have the promising to hurt small businesses even more I can t compete with that she stated It s super scary Eli Garcia works at her family s store Eli's Produce Domain in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Polish goods have been experienced price increases from tariffs at Eli's Produce Sector in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Eli Garcia works at her family s store Eli's Produce Domain in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Dubai chocolate is sold at Eli's Produce Sphere in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Eli Garcia stands at her family s store Eli's Produce Sector in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group People shop at Eli's Produce Arena in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group The price of bananas may increase because of tariffs at Eli's Produce Region in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Show Caption of Eli Garcia works at her family s store Eli's Produce Industry in San Jose Calif on Thursday April Shae Hammond Bay Area News Group Expand Roth the tea shop owner is confused about whether to take Trump s tariffs seriously or not especially when they ve been so on-again off-again It feels like a lot of people are stressed out and suffering for no real reason Roth disclosed A lot of small businesses are going to be severely impacted at a time when we already can t afford to exist Truck driver Merlin Rivera delivers produce to Chinatown businesses in Oakland Calif on Friday April Ray Chavez Bay Area News Group