The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is hosting events around Small Business Day today to kick off the start of Small Business month.

Small businesses remain the economic engine of the United States.  In fact, from 1995 to 2021, for example, small businesses were responsible for creating 63% of new jobs, a total of about 17.3 million jobs.  American small businesses employ about 46% of our private sector workforce and represent 43.5% of gross domestic product. 

Hispanic entrepreneurship continues to be an important element in contributing to America’s economic success.  For example, the Small Business Administration shows that Hispanic business owners comprised 14.5% of business owners in 2022, a 13% increase from 2021.

In light of the economic turmoil caused by announcements of pending tariff increases, the Chamber sent a letter to the Administration encouraging international trade negotiations but also warning that “many small businesses will suffer irreparable harm” and asking for exclusions for small business importers.

In support, HLF issued the following statement:

Tariffs are taxes on Americans.  American families, consumers, and small businesses pay the price and are already being hurt.  Americans will be worse off economically unless there is a change in direction regarding tariff policy.  Providing relief to small businesses is a step in the right direction.

In the context of international trade, American small businesses represent 97.3% of all exporters and 32.6% of known export value ($413.3 billion).