According to new reporting from WLOS, Michael Whatley’s tariffs are driving up costs for North Carolinians and hurting small businesses.
Whatley has called the trade war “record setting in terms of […] effectiveness” and said he supports it “wholeheartedly.”
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WLOS: North Carolina coffee roaster cites tariffs, other setbacks for price increase
November 4, 2025
- A coffee roaster in western North Carolina says he’s had to raise prices due to tariffs imposed by the Trump administration and other challenges facing the local industry.
- Kevin Duckett, the owner of Smoky Mountain Coffee Roasters on Hazelwood Avenue, says he’s been in business for nearly 30 years. He said he recently had to raise the price of coffee per pound for the fifth time in his career, but he’s keeping the business’s signature $1 cup of coffee as a show of appreciation for customers.
- “We’re trying to keep our costs down as best we can,” he said.
- Duckett said he and other local industry members have endured a “triple whammy” recently: losses due to Helene, a poor coffee crop last year, and tariffs on imports.
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