YouTuber claims former president’s new economic measures increase local production costs and could choke small businesses
Digital influencer Jimmy Donaldson, better known as MrBeast, has publicly opposed new tariffs imposed by former President Donald Trump, arguing that the measures make it more cost-effective to produce his Feastables chocolate line outside the United States.
In a post on the social media platform X, Donaldson stated that the new tariffs have “ironically made it way cheaper” to manufacture the products abroad. “Other countries don’t impose a 20%+ tariff on our inputs,” the 26-year-old entrepreneur noted.
Although Feastables chocolates are conceived in Donaldson’s hometown of Greenville, North Carolina, production is split between the United States and Peru. The brand, according to its creator, prioritizes sustainable practices such as using Fair Trade-certified cocoa beans and paying farmers fair wages.
However, he acknowledged that the additional costs imposed by the tariffs have had a significant impact. “The random price hikes have been pretty brutal. We’ll figure out a solution, but I worry for small businesses – this could be a fatal blow for them,” he wrote.
Feastables represents a significant portion of the revenue for Beast Industries, a conglomerate founded by MrBeast. In 2024, the chocolate brand accounted for about 50% of the company’s revenue, totaling $215 million, according to Business Insider.
The new tariffs – part of a retaliatory trade policy applied to both allies and rivals of the U.S. – went into effect just after midnight. They follow a previous baseline 10% levy imposed during Trump’s so-called “Day of Liberation.”
While the former president claims that the U.S. collects about $2 billion a day from these tariffs, the strategy has caused financial market instability and reignited fears of inflation and recession. According to the executive order, the tariffs will only be lifted if more favorable trade agreements are reached or if Trump determines that the deficit and imbalance have been addressed.
Source and images: NyPost / X @mrbeast. This content was created with AI assistance and reviewed by the editorial team.
