COVINGTON, Ky. — President Donald Trump's tariffs change daily, but the universal 10 percent tariff applied to all imports worldwide is still in place.
That 10 percent increase was too much for Cincinnati Wholesale Florist to absorb.
Kara Acri, owner of Scarlet Begonia's Flower Truck, got the dreaded email from her wholesaler this week. Cincinnati Wholesale Florist is passing that 10 percent tariff on to its customers.
But Acri didn't want to have to pass on the expense to her customers.
"I'm sick to my stomach over it," Acri said.
WATCH: Here's how Acri is adjusting and adapting to the higher prices on flowers:
Acri explained that she didn't want to raise the price of her bouquets, so she settled on adding a 10 percent service fee while the tariffs were in place.
"I am fully committed to if and when these tariffs are rescinded, I will immediately eliminate the service fee from our system, she said.
Acri explained that 80 percent of the world's flowers come from South America. So she won't be the only one feeling the high prices.
If you're a local business forced to raise prices because of tariffs or inflation, you can send me an email at ally.kraemer@wcpo.com.
You can shop around if a few more dollars for flowers doesn't work for your budget. But remember that a few wholesalers provide flowers for most of the Tri-State. So you'll likely see flower prices rise across the board; Acri is just being transparent about it.
