SAN YSIDRO, Calif. (KGTV)—Carolin Shoes on San Ysidro Boulevard has been in business for over 20 years. The store is packed with a variety of shoes, clothing, and accessories; however, what’s missing lately is customers.
"We haven’t had a lot of customers coming in, especially those that cross the border, so a majority of our customers, they cross," says Carolina Lin, whose parents have owned the business her entire life.
Most of their products are imported from China. On Wednesday, President Trump announced an additional 34% tariff on all goods from the country. On Friday, China hit back with 34% reciprocal tariffs of its own.
Even before the tariffs this week, Lin says vendors have bumped the price of shoes by 15% and accessories by as much as 35% more. So far, that price increase from their vendors hasn’t been passed on to their customers.
"Many people don’t want to pay the prices that we already have, and having an increase in our prices is going to dramatically affect our sales," says Lin.
The business has slowed so much that the Lin family has started buying less merchandise, and Lin wonders how long her parents' business can stay afloat.
"I’m just hoping that we can just keep this business running for as long as we can because a lot of customers depend on our pricing and our merchandise," says Lin.
