Ganesh Himal Trading Meets with Congressional Representative about Federal Tariffs.
Written by Kira Attwood

Kira Attwood

After Denise’s article in the last newsletter about the impacts of tariffs on Ganesh Himal Trading, we decided to reach out to our Eastern Washington Congressman, Michael Baumgartner, to arrange a meeting.  Denise, Austin and I wanted to share in-person our story of how deeply the tariffs are affecting us, a locally-owned business that has operated in the Spokane area for over 40 years. 

We didn’t get to meet with the Congressman himself, rather one of his aides, Jake Espeland, but we did get to have a real, live face-to-face with an actual person.  I must tell you that Denise was on FIRE!! She shared that Ganesh Himal trading has faced great uncertainty in the past, and we understand that uncertainty is part of business.  We’ve made it through a civil war in Nepal, a devastating earthquake in Nepal, and the CoVid 19 pandemic, but we have never felt the uncertainty from our own government that we are experiencing now.  She shared the printouts of our most recent shipment compared to the shipment at the same time last year and highlighted the outrageous amount of money we’re having to pay in tariffs.  She also highlighted the thousands of additional dollars we had to pay to get our shipment because of the inefficiency of US customs.  She asked the aide to explain where exactly we’re supposed to come up with an additional $12,000 and stated clearly that the Congressman is part of the party in power, so he needs to be part of the solution.  Way to go Denise! 

We encourage you all to schedule meetings with your representatives to share your stories about the impacts of tariffs too.  The more our representatives hear from us, the more likely they are to fight on our behalf.  Here’s a great organization we  found https://www.wepaythetariffs.com/, check them out and make sure to sign the letter to lawmakers!  Onward with the good fight!