During Wednesday’s Senate Small Businesses and Entrepreneurship Committee hearing, Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) questioned SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler about President Trump’s tariffs’ effect on small businesses.
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00:00A little bit over.
00:02The senator yield.
00:06Okay, the senator's finished.
00:08I yield five minutes to myself.
00:10Administrator, great to have you here.
00:12If you'll remember, I like to brag about having been a small business owner.
00:17My father was a small business owner.
00:19My grandfather was a small business owner.
00:21Several of my children are small business owners.
00:24It's clear the economy of Utah is deeply resting on the shoulders of small businesses.
00:30So we value what you do and the importance of what you do.
00:36There's been a lot of discussion recently and today about President Trump's Liberation Day tariffs.
00:42I've had a chance to travel my state.
00:45And I think it's fair to say that the tariffs do have a disproportionate impact on small business.
00:50They don't have the same resources that larger businesses do to sustain those.
00:55They don't have as many different options with supply chains as they do.
01:00And I never tried to out-guess the president and his negotiating style.
01:04But also the uncertainty of their on, their off is also very difficult on our small businesses.
01:11And I'd just love to have you maybe comment on what we can be doing for our small businesses in this environment and what your advice is to small businesses and kind of what they can expect.
01:22Thank you, Senator.
01:24And I was pleased to have the chance to visit your state and travel around small businesses.
01:29Yes, and we'll get you back when I'm there.
01:31But thank you for going.
01:32That would be great.
01:33That would be great.
01:33There's so many great small businesses and workforce development programs taking place.
01:40So I commend your state and the business-friendly environment.
01:43And the SBA is squarely focused on serving small businesses through all the challenges that they face and the opportunities they face.
01:52And fair trade is certainly one of those opportunities.
01:54And what we just discussed was the availability of now potentially looking at export markets,
02:00where small businesses have been shut out of too many markets globally.
02:04But one of the biggest things we can do is strengthen our supply chain by making more of our components and parts and materials in America.
02:12That's why we're having this hearing is to support the Made in America Manufacturing Finance Act.
02:17And it's a bipartisan effort to ensure that after more than a decade of not raising loan limits,
02:25that small businesses which comprise most manufacturers in America can have access to investing in that incremental CNC machine,
02:34hiring those workers, expanding the plant where they've heard foreign countries come in and say they want to manufacture in America.
02:41Thanks to President Trump's fair trade policies.
02:45We've also announced a Make Onshore and Great Again portal, which provides access to small businesses.
02:51It's a resource of about one million production and manufacturing facilities in America that is searchable by small businesses
03:00to see if they can source more of their supply chain in America.
03:04And so it's through innovative efforts like this, expanding access to capital, understanding that there are more resources onshore than we might recognize,
03:13and then ensuring that they have access to our technical resources and loan programs to fulfill the potential that this administration is bringing with $10 trillion in investment.
03:25And frankly, the biggest thing I hear too is the upcoming tax cut bill.
03:31That's small businesses' biggest concern right now is that they not be subject to a massive tax increase.
03:38So, you know, we would love to work with your office to hear any other ideas, but right now I think small businesses appreciate that President Trump is fighting for them to level the playing field
03:50and so that we can make sure we can have Made in America and ensure that small businesses are no longer dependent on the Chinese Communist Party for their production.
03:59I think it's hard to find a small business in Utah that doesn't want President Trump to be not just successful, but wildly successful.
04:08I think there is a lot of patience among our small businesses.
04:12At the same time, anything the administration or you can do to signal that you get it, right, that this is very painful,
04:18particularly disproportionately painful on our small businesses, I think is very, very important to do
04:24and to help them realize that they are being seen and heard.
04:29And a lot of it for me is when I talk to them, if I'm simply able to say, I will deliver your story to Washington, that's really what they want.
04:36They just want to make sure that they're heard.
04:38Absolutely, Senator.
04:39And we are the voice for small business.
04:42And we know that the President is, there's no greater fan of small business than President Trump.
04:47He's fighting for them.
04:48That's what fair trade's about.
04:49Yeah, and I, in reference to the size of your offices, one of the things I learned as a small business owner is
04:56we sometimes make the mistake that we solve problems by hiring more people.
05:01And I'm very well aware it's not necessarily more people.
05:04And I also think we ought to point out that every person on that payroll is a dollar,
05:09every dollar we pay them is a dollar not going into small business programs.
05:12So I know that that balance is difficult for you,
05:14but I just want you to know the Senator appreciates that it's not all about the numbers of people.
05:20It's more about the quality of the services.
05:23And with that, I yield my time and I...