Steve Inskeep

And I'm Steve Inskeep. For your next listen, consider Consider This from NPR News. We hear it up first, give you the first three big stories of the day. And our Consider This colleagues take a different approach, diving into a single news story. Listen now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Well, we've been visiting the source of your stuff, Michelle. Things like hairpins, pots and pans, toys. You've got a grill, don't you? You got a grill? I do. And pots and pans. Okay, well, we saw a place where they sell enormous numbers of grills.

Well, we've been visiting the source of your stuff, Michelle. Things like hairpins, pots and pans, toys. You've got a grill, don't you? You got a grill? I do. And pots and pans. Okay, well, we saw a place where they sell enormous numbers of grills.

Well, we've been visiting the source of your stuff, Michelle. Things like hairpins, pots and pans, toys. You've got a grill, don't you? You got a grill? I do. And pots and pans. Okay, well, we saw a place where they sell enormous numbers of grills.

A lot of that kind of consumer stuff comes to America through a Chinese trading city called Yiwu, Y-I-W-U, Yiwu, where thousands of wholesalers ship products from nearby factories. Our tour through this area gave us a little bit of news, how some Chinese businesses are responding to those tariffs, and also a picture of life.

A lot of that kind of consumer stuff comes to America through a Chinese trading city called Yiwu, Y-I-W-U, Yiwu, where thousands of wholesalers ship products from nearby factories. Our tour through this area gave us a little bit of news, how some Chinese businesses are responding to those tariffs, and also a picture of life.

A lot of that kind of consumer stuff comes to America through a Chinese trading city called Yiwu, Y-I-W-U, Yiwu, where thousands of wholesalers ship products from nearby factories. Our tour through this area gave us a little bit of news, how some Chinese businesses are responding to those tariffs, and also a picture of life.

This international trading market is like a shopping mall next to a shopping mall next to a shopping mall. And I walked through with our colleague, Rina Advani, and we recorded as we went. Let's just listen to a little bit of that.

This international trading market is like a shopping mall next to a shopping mall next to a shopping mall. And I walked through with our colleague, Rina Advani, and we recorded as we went. Let's just listen to a little bit of that.

This international trading market is like a shopping mall next to a shopping mall next to a shopping mall. And I walked through with our colleague, Rina Advani, and we recorded as we went. Let's just listen to a little bit of that.

So there's an umbrella store, nothing but umbrellas.

So there's an umbrella store, nothing but umbrellas.

So there's an umbrella store, nothing but umbrellas.

Light bulbs, like a light bulb store, that's what they sell. Shop after shop after shop, and then we settled in at a display room for hardware. I've been going around the store just writing down things that are for sale. Spades, saws, staplers, caulk guns, garden shears, wire cutters, bolt cutters, garden hose nozzles.

Light bulbs, like a light bulb store, that's what they sell. Shop after shop after shop, and then we settled in at a display room for hardware. I've been going around the store just writing down things that are for sale. Spades, saws, staplers, caulk guns, garden shears, wire cutters, bolt cutters, garden hose nozzles.

Light bulbs, like a light bulb store, that's what they sell. Shop after shop after shop, and then we settled in at a display room for hardware. I've been going around the store just writing down things that are for sale. Spades, saws, staplers, caulk guns, garden shears, wire cutters, bolt cutters, garden hose nozzles.

that the Chinese suppliers of our goods are dealing with those tariffs in different ways. The hardware store seller who's selling screwdrivers, jackhammers, any number of things, says she thinks that her tools are in demand and that American consumers are just going to pay more. She's not changing her prices.

that the Chinese suppliers of our goods are dealing with those tariffs in different ways. The hardware store seller who's selling screwdrivers, jackhammers, any number of things, says she thinks that her tools are in demand and that American consumers are just going to pay more. She's not changing her prices.

that the Chinese suppliers of our goods are dealing with those tariffs in different ways. The hardware store seller who's selling screwdrivers, jackhammers, any number of things, says she thinks that her tools are in demand and that American consumers are just going to pay more. She's not changing her prices.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. She says she's just going to improve the packaging and marketing a little bit. But with that said, we also heard some stories of people who have lost business or agreed to make some tradeoffs. OK, what do you mean by that? Well, for example, a seller of hairpins and claw clips told us she had an order from Target, and they said, would you pick up half the cost of the tariffs?