Covering 11 states, the campaign will focus on driving home the message that a tariff is a tax, targeting the areas where agricultural and manufacturing costs have skyrocketed.
WASHINGTON – Wednesday, July 1, 2026 – Today Small Businesses Against Tariffs launched a new $1 million education and mobilization campaign highlighting the fact that tariffs are causing massive economic harm to American consumers and small businesses. We are putting up billboards and digital ads across the country to highlight these costs, focusing on those states whose manufacturing and agriculture sectors are being devastated by tariffs.
We are placing these billboards across 11 states; you are free to use these images with credit to Small Businesses Against Tariffs. We chose these states because they are home to critical industries heavily impacted by tariffs, including agriculture—Texas, Nebraska, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, and Arkansas—and manufacturing—Indiana, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, and Michigan.
In addition, we are running this ad on YouTube and other digital advertising platforms in each of these states, all month long. The ad uses a retro 1990s concept and bills tariffs as “the subscription you didn’t sign up for, and can’t cancel.” You are free to use the ad with credit to Small Businesses Against Tariffs:
Tariffs hit Americans’ pocketbooks in multiple ways. For the agricultural sector, the harm extends outward: According to the USDA’s Economic Research Service, when the United States raises tariffs, trading partners abroad retaliate by taxing American farm exports. This, in turn, makes US agricultural products more expensive, resulting in fewer purchases and lower earnings for producers.
For the steel and auto-producing sectors, the harm runs inward: A tariff is a tax the US company pays on imported inputs, including steel and aluminum, as well as derivative products, like imported cars and parts. This increases overall production costs inside the US.
Tariffs are a policy choice, and this ad campaign is aimed at educating Americans about their impacts, so that they can support policies that are better for the American economy and our small businesses. 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, tariffs cause businesses 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 will continue to help make this story real for people.
To be connected with the business owners associated with this campaign, please reach out to franquiz@smallbusinessesagainsttariffs.org.
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