Small Businesses Against Tariffs is bringing street posters and decals all month to Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville, and Newark (NJ) to highlight the true cost of tariffs and trade wars.
WASHINGTON – March 30, 2026 – Today Small Businesses Against Tariffs launched a new six-figure guerrilla ad campaign to educate Americans about who truly pays the costs of tariffs and trade wars: American small businesses and consumers. This month-long campaign will target the five states that have been hit hardest by tariffs, with street posters and decals blanketing Chicago, Atlanta, Detroit, Nashville, and Newark (NJ).
The campaign will run for one month and features messages including “A Tariff Is A Tax,” “Tariffs→Higher Prices,” and “Tariffs Make Life More Expensive.” You can view images of the ads here, and you are free to use these with credit to Small Businesses Against Tariffs.
To select these locations, Small Businesses Against Tariffs targeted the five states where residents and businesses rely most heavily on imported goods, making them the states hit hardest when tariffs drive prices up. The campaign will feature new waves of posters and decals going up each week, to ensure as many people as possible are exposed to this content.
This campaign follows the Supreme Court’s ruling on IEEPA tariffs and the subsequent implementation of tariffs under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, which has left small business owners in the dark about how they will be impacted going forward.
Despite extensive news coverage of trade policy, polling consistently shows that many Americans believe foreign countries pay US tariffs. In reality, tariffs are paid by American importers, and those costs are passed on to businesses and consumers in the form of higher prices. Ultimately, they cause businesses to have to scale back operations, cut staff, or shut down altogether, with devastating consequences for these businesses and the local communities they serve.
Small Businesses Against Tariffs launched last month to cut through the confusion about tariffs and help educate the country on who really pays. The campaign also features videos of real business owners from across the country talking about how tariffs have affected their livelihoods. These include Chris Gibbs, an Ohio farmer who is struggling to import fertilizer and farming equipment; Jennifer Bergman, who had to shut down her family’s New York City toy store after 44 years; and Sari Wiaz, a Chicago-area business owner who had to raise her prices 20 percent. You can view all of these stories here.
To be connected with the business owners associated with this campaign, please reach out to franquiz@smallbusinessesagainsttariffs.org. Learn more at SmallBusinessesAgainstTariffs.org.
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