Trump’s trade war is coming to a Black-owned beauty supply store near you
For many Black-owned beauty supply stores, Trump's trade war is hitting close to home.
With its chandeliers and pink couches, Pink Noire, a Black-owned hair and beauty supply store in Memphis, Tennessee, seems a world away from the major industries caught up in the global trade war.
But owner Chasity Monroe is bracing for the Trump administration’s trade policies to hit her shelves. Tariffs have hiked the import fees on hair products she carries from overseas — by roughly 145% in the case of Chinese-made goods.
“It’s just been really scary for a small business that’s not been open long,” Monroe said.
For a generation of Black girls, their first brush with makeup was the fruity-scented or shiny, clear squeeze-tube lip gloss they bought at the local beauty supply shop. It has been the place to prep for wash day as they transitioned to natural hair in their adulthood. Korean Americans own many of the stores, but Black ownership is slowly growing.
In the United States, Black hair care is estimated to be a more than $2.5 billion industry. And foreign exporters are critical to that engine, providing everything from the wefts used in sew-ins to ingredients for ethnic hair care products, like shea butter imported from Ghana and elsewhere.
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