Harwin Drive businesses struggle with steep, unpredictable tariffs
Harwin Drive, a longtime favorite shopping destination for Houstonians seeking affordable goods, is facing significant challenges due to steep and unpredictable tariffs.
Harwin Drive, a longtime favorite shopping destination for Houstonians seeking affordable goods, is facing significant challenges due to steep and unpredictable tariffs.
The changes are forcing some businesses to close and causing prices to rise, impacting both shopkeepers and shoppers.
Gus Youss, who runs “Royal Liquidation”, a clothing business on Harwin Drive, said the tariff situation has broken the business model that made the area popular. “I mean, we’re based on buying cheap, selling cheap. So we’re not buying cheap now. So we are not able to sell cheap,” Youss said.
Youss added that his business is struggling to stay afloat.
“I used to have five girls, now I have only two girls working for me. We are very careful with all the spending and all the expenses, you know, we’re trying just to make it,” he said.
Steven Elter, manager of The Tool Club, a hardware store on Harwin Drive, explained how tariff unpredictability is complicating purchasing decisions.
“It makes purchasing almost impossible because we don’t know what the tariffs will be,” Elter said. He noted that he had placed a larger order months ago to take advantage of a lower tariff rate, but now the uncertainty is forcing him to put some orders on hold. “We can’t ship them. We can’t order,” he said. “We don’t know what we’re going to pay.”
Even customs brokers, who help businesses navigate tariffs and import regulations, are struggling to keep up with the constant changes.
“Unfortunately we don’t know what the future holds. Our national association was recently in D.C. asking for more time from our congress, you know, our congressional representatives, asking for them to give us a better window of time for the importing community to better prepare for these tariffs, because that’s really the big hit right now,” Lori Mullins, President of the Houston Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association, said recently after a monthly chapter meeting at Sonesta-IAH Hotel.
The uncertainty around tariffs is as much a problem as the high costs themselves. Both shoppers and shopkeepers on Harwin Drive are feeling the impact as the area’s reputation for affordable shopping faces an uncertain future.
