FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of White House, U.S. national flag

Phoenix, USA - April 11, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Erica Campbell, owner, Be A Heart (partially overlaid with shots 3-4/ending with shot 5):
"We're nervous and worried that these businesses that we have spent many years, time, and effort on could be at risk of, you know, not existing anymore. I think I've spent 10,000 U.S. dollars on it. I have shipments that are now stuck. I'm not going to pay 145 percent tariff on these products. So I basically have said to them, like, let's pause on major production because we don't know if we could handle, like, a 10 percent tariff and then even a 20 percent. And the factories were really willing to work with me on that. And now, I mean, nobody can afford it -- on either side."
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3. Campbell’s social media account
4. Various of logistics map
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FILE: Philadelphia, USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
5. U.S. national flag

FILE: New York City, USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
6. Various of buildings, pedestrians, traffic

Phoenix, USA - April 11, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Erica Campbell, owner, Be A Heart (partially overlaid with shot 8):
"If this doesn't change, then I can't continue to make things in China. I couldn't find what I was looking for here. I probably have 10 to 15 factories that I work with in China. It's a small business, so, like, my MOQ (Minimum Order Quantities) are like 1,000. So I'm able to make these smaller batch things, and they're still delivered with quality."

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FILE: Los Angeles, USA - March 2025 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
8. Various of vessels, cranes, containers at port
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FILE: Los Angeles, USA - March 2025 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of vessels, cranes, containers at port

Phoenix, USA - April 11, 2025 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Erica Campbell, owner, Be A Heart (partially overlaid with shots 11-12):
"I am really worried about the tariffs, because I am the primary earner in my family. I can make much more money than my husband can, and so we rely entirely on my income. So we don't know, you know, what he (U.S. President Trump) actually wants. I don't think it would be beneficial for the American people to have more manufacturing here, if there can be some negotiations between our two countries, and on both sides, to realize that both American and Chinese people are better off when we can really work together."

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FILE: Los Angeles, USA - Nov 9, 2017 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
11. Various of loaded ships, containers at port

FILE: USA - Date Unknown (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
12. Various of facilities, ships, containers at port
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FILE: Washington D.C., USA - Oct 2024 (CCTV Video News Agency - No access Chinese mainland)
13. Various of U.S. national flags

Small American business owners are sounding the alarm as rising U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods threaten to wipe out years of hard work, investment, and international partnerships -- putting their entire livelihoods at risk.

Erica Campbell, owner of the lifestyle brand Be A Heart, said her business was on the verge of bankruptcy due to the surge in tariffs, during an online interview with Yuyuantantian, a media outlet under China Media Group (CMG).

"We're nervous and worried that these businesses that we have spent many years, time, and effort on could be at risk of, you know, not existing anymore. I think I've spent 10,000 U.S. dollars on it. I have shipments that are now stuck. I'm not going to pay 145 percent tariff on these products. So I basically have said to them, like, let's pause on major production because we don't know if we could handle, like, a 10 percent tariff and then even a 20 percent. And the factories were really willing to work with me on that. And now, I mean, nobody can afford it -- on either side," she said.

For many American small business owners, China remains an essential manufacturing partner -- not just for cost, but for flexibility and quality. However, rising tariffs are threatening to upend these relationships and force difficult decisions.

"If this doesn't change, then I can't continue to make things in China. I couldn't find what I was looking for here. I probably have 10 to 15 factories that I work with in China. It's a small business, so, like, my MOQ (Minimum Order Quantities) are like 1,000. So I'm able to make these smaller batch things, and they're still delivered with quality," said Campbell.

She said that bringing more manufacturing back to the U.S. isn’t necessarily in the best interest of the American people and expressed hope that both countries could engage in negotiations and come to recognize that Americans and Chinese alike are better off when working together.

"I am really worried about the tariffs, because I am the primary earner in my family. I can make much more money than my husband can, and so we rely entirely on my income. So we don't know, you know, what he (U.S. President Trump) actually wants. I don't think it would be beneficial for the American people to have more manufacturing here, if there can be some negotiations between our two countries, and on both sides, to realize that both American and Chinese people are better off when we can really work together," said Campbell.

Amid widespread opposition, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order on the so-called "reciprocal tariffs," imposing a 10-percent "minimum baseline tariff" on all imports, before announcing higher rates on certain trading partners.

After several days of chaos in the global financial markets, Trump suddenly announced on Wednesday a 90-day pause on the higher tariff rates for the European Union and all other countries -- except China, where the "reciprocal" tariff rate was raised to 125 percent, pushing the total levy on Chinese goods to a staggering 145 percent.