“There is no truth to what we heard from Trump, and there would have been nothing from him [Democratic candidate] Kamala [Harris]which we believe impacts the overall health of new business creation and entrepreneurship,” Shopify CFO Jeff Hoffmeister said in a call with analysts on Tuesday.
“We are still very happy with all the traders out there, all the entrepreneurs who want to start new businesses and of course that will not change with the administration.”
Trump’s proposed tariffs create uncertainty for firms
Hoffmeister’s comments come per week after Trump, a Republican businessman, defeated Harris in an election that can soon return him to the Oval Office.
During the election campaign, he threatened to impose tariffs of 60% on imports from China and around 10 to twenty% on goods from all other countries.
If the president-elect follows through on his promise, many fear operating costs will skyrocket for businesses, including customers of Shopify, which sells e-commerce software to small businesses, in addition to brands as big as Kylie Cosmetics and Victoria’s Secret sold.
These retailers may feel they don’t have any alternative but to pass on the value increases to customers, potentially resulting in more inflation.
If Trump’s tariffs actually come to fruition, Shopify President Harley Finkelstein identified that China is “not a huge area” for Shopify.
However, “we cannot predict what each presidential administration will do,” he warned.
