BOZEMAN — A Montana dog toy maker says it’s feeling the impact of the trade dispute between the United States and China.
The owner of Bozeman’s West Paw, Spencer Williams, told the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that new tariffs will hurt its access to some production materials and slow its growth.
Williams says 90 percent of its materials come from the United States but it relies on China for textiles that are no longer made domestically.
The company is absorbing the cost of the tariffs. Williams doesn’t expect that to lead to layoffs but says the increased cost will make it difficult for the company to grow.
President Donald Trump has touted the tariff increases as a way of reducing China’s trade surplus with the U.S. which hit a staggering $379 billion last year.