Some U.S. restaurants and retailers are already passing along the costs of tariffs to customers and have warned that future price increases on their products may occur should higher tariffs go into effect, such as proposed 46 percent tariffs on products like shrimp from Vietnam and 50 percent duties on E.U. imports.
Today’s Crab House in Oxon Hill, Maryland, U.S.A., is one such restaurant that recently raised prices on shrimp and crabs.
“We hate to do it, and we have a few options: Decrease the portion of meat size or raise the price, and we don’t want to decrease the portion because customers are used to good portion sizes. So, the only way to combat this is raise the price,” Today’s Crab Owner John Lee told DC News Now.
Today’s Crab House shrimp prices rose 20 percent – from USD 4.80 (EUR 4.20) to USD 5.60 (EUR 4.90) per pound – while crab prices now stand at USD 30 (EUR 26) per pound.
“With inflation in the past few years, the prices have already gone up, and lots of the shrimp you get in restaurants come from Ecuador. You see the impact from the tariffs on that has gone up a couple of dollars, and when you sell lots of shrimp, that adds up,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, restaurant owners across the country, including in New York City, the greater Boston, Massachusetts, metropolitan area, and Santa Cruz, California, are all being hit with higher costs when sourcing products and are weighing whether to make the same decision Today’s Crab House made or seek other solutions like changing their menus...
