How a high heel entrepreneur is handling tariffs before the other shoe drops

Haley Pavone thought this was going to be the biggest and best year yet for her footwear company.

Haley Pavone thought this was going to be the biggest and best year yet for her footwear company. Based in Southern California, she had big dreams for Pashion Footwear, the online business she started as a 20-year-old college junior that sells high heels that convert into flats.

Instead, she found herself imploring lawmakers for help as tariffs threaten to cripple her company.

“We went from duty-free status to paying actually 190% on average overnight,” Pavone told NBC News.

In the months since President Donald Trump took office, the trade war has swung wildly back and forth. Tariff rates have, at times, changed suddenly and dramatically as U.S. officials seek deals with other countries.

It has ensnared business owners like Pavone in a battle they didn’t choose, as they struggle to plan for a future they can’t clearly see.