Small businesses are being crushed by Trump's tariffs and economists say it's a warning for the economy

Viresh Varma can’t sleep.

The CEO of AV Universal Corp., a small footwear company that sells through retailers like Macy’s

, Nordstrom and DSW

, said he needed to take out a $250,000 loan to pay his tariff bill on a container of shoes he imported from India for the holiday shopping season.

Varma didn’t have the cash on hand to pay the duties, which he said used to be around $7,500 for a similar-sized container before President Donald Trump’s new tariffs. But without the financing, he wouldn’t have anything to sell during the holidays.