A customer shops at a Target store in Rosemead, Los Angeles County, California, the United States, on March 4, 2025. (Photo by Zeng Hui/Xinhua)"The tariffs are hurting small businesses, and they're making imports more expensive. But it's not the overseas manufacturers who are paying the price; it's us, the consumers and the business owners here in the United States," said Jacqueline Renaud, a New York resident.By Ada ZhangNEW YORK, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Americans' wallets are bleeding dry. Tariffs and inflation are driving up prices on everyday essentials, from grocery staples like fruits and vegetables to household goods.Ahmeda Ale has spent 15 years selling fresh fruits and vegetables from roadside stands in Brooklyn and Manhattan. With wholesale prices surging in the last year, he and his business partner are struggling to keep their products affordable while competing with larger grocery chains."Everything costs more now," Ale told Xinhua on Wednesday, standing outside one of his three stands near a major franchise grocery store that sources imported goods from South America and Asia. The chain has raised prices sharply this year, but Ale has resisted following suit -- for now.A large share of the most commonly purchased fruits and vegetables in the United States are imported from Mexico, Canada and other countries. All are facing higher tariffs."Tariffs on all imported goods from Mexico and Canada -- especially on ingredients and inputs that aren't available in the United States -- could lead to higher consumer prices and retaliation against U.S. exporters," Consumer Brands Association, a U.S.-wide trade association that represents nearly 2,000 brands, said in their statement released earlier this year.Each morning, Ale makes the trip from the Bronx, New York, to restock his stands. Over the past three years, his wholesale costs have skyrocketed 100 percent."One hundred percent," he said, repeating the rate twice. A carton of raspberries that once cost him one U.S. dollar now costs two dollars each, yet he continues to sell them at two for five dollars, eating into his profits to stay competitive.Ale's stands have built a loyal customer base. But with inflation showing no signs of slowing, he wonders how much longer he can hold out."The tariffs are hurting small businesses, and they're making imports more expensive. But it's not the overseas manufacturers who are paying the price; it's us, the consumers and the business owners here in the United States," said Jacqueline Renaud, a New York resident.U.S. President Donald Trump shows an executive order on "reciprocal tariffs" at the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on April 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)Renaud walked out of a grocery store carrying a paper bag that contained only one tomato, a small salad and some eggs that were on sale."I had to cut back a lot," Renaud said. "I own my own home, but even then, I still have to make tough choices about what I can buy.""I still want to eat healthy, but the rising costs make it difficult. I understand that prices go up over time, but this just doesn't feel fair," Renaud said.At a Japanese grocery chain in New York, manager Samantha Lopez has watched as staple items like rice and noodles steadily climb in price, a trend she attributes to their overseas origins."Certain items have been getting more expensive," Lopez said, especially products shipped from Asia. She noted that rice and noodles have seen significant price hikes, while domestically produced goods like Pocky snacks have remained stable.Though tariffs haven't yet heavily impacted her store's pricing, Lopez expects they could take one to two months to fully affect costs."I'm trying to keep prices as consistent as possible," she told Xinhua. "I don't want customers to see one price today and a much higher one tomorrow."The tariff levels announced Wednesday by Trump are steeper than many economists expected.Michael Pearce, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics, a consulting firm, expects higher inflation and slower growth following Trump's announcement. He had already predicted inflation would rise above 3 percent later this year, up from about 2.5 percent now."This is clearly worse news on tariffs than we had forecast," said Pearce, The Associated Press reported.