“We had a slight increase in bike sales prices but not enough to cover the outrageous tariff rates,” reported Woombikes’ Jesse Rendon. “Given the current economic crises we are in, having to pay additional fees for tariffs is like putting salt on a wound.”

Founded in 2014, Woombikes already has grown to 60 employees. It was named to the Inc. 5000 fastest-growing private companies in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Yet millions of dollars in new tariffs hurt, and not just Woombikes. Coalition for GSP data shows over $24 million in tariffs paid on bicycles due to GSP expiration from January 2021-April 2022. Expiration costs are accelerating: year-to-date tariffs on bicycles (generally) are 163% higher in 2022 than 2021, and tariffs on children’s bikes specifically are 201% higher.

Congress can help by passing retroactive GSP renewal legislation ASAP. According to Rendon, “Having the $1.9M refunded will allow me to pay down my debt, as well as hire new employees to scale the company to support our current growth. We also will be able to offer more benefits like company matching for our new 401(k) plan and possibly bonuses for our employees.”

If you’re a GSP importer, please help by answering the survey/sharing your story here. No company-specific information is shared without permission (which Woombikes granted). Even if responses cannot be shared publicly, they help inform the Coalition for GSP’s conversations with policymakers about the importance of renewing GSP.

GSP expiration in 2013 led to an estimated $1.5 million in sales for Kona, which also paid nearly $600,000 in tariffs. As Kona’s Chairman Jacob Heilbron said in 2014:

“We’re unable to raise prices during our model year so the loss of profit is absorbed into our bottom line. We would like to hire new U.S. based personnel for our R&D/Product Development team but are waiting until GSP is renewed.”

While it took nearly a year to receive all of its tariff refunds, Kona took immediate steps to invest and hire new workers following GSP renewal in 2015. In the 30 days after GSP was renewed (but before benefits kicked back in), Kona hired a senior engineer and an industrial designer and had plans to hire a new product manager the next month. It has hired two more workers since and now has 32 employees, a nearly 20 percent increase over early 2015 before Congress renewed GSP.

Our Kona profile page has more details about the importance of continued GSP benefits to the company (also available as a one-page PDF here or below).

Kona is just one of the GSP importers sharing how GSP allows its businesses and workers to thrive on our Company Profiles page.