Heres an easy to understand example of how Donald Trumps tariffs on imported products have completely screwed small U.S. businesses and entrepreneurs: the crowdfunding site Kickstarter is introducing a Tariff Manager tool that will allow creators to add extra charges to projects that were already fully funded in order to deal with the higher and unexpected costs of the presidents global trade war.Over the past few weeks, weve been hard at work developing tariff-relevant resources to support our community. From guidance to help creators navigate rapidly changing policies, to tips on shipping logistics, and even information to help backers better understand the challenges creators are facing. Our focus has been supporting you through uncertain times, but we also know that information alone isnt always enough, Kickstarter said in a blog post published last week announcing the Tariff Manager tool. Built specifically to address the financial challenges posed by U.S. import tariffs, Kickstarters Tariff Manager is designed to give creators more control, flexibility, and transparency at one of the most critical phases of your journey: fulfillment.Kickstarters Tariff Manager will allow some creators to apply per-item surcharges which will appear as a separate line item on the payment page for people who backed their project.We understand that asking backers to pay an additional feeespecially after a campaign has endedcan be sensitive, Kickstarter said. If a backer chooses not to pay the tariff cost during the pledge manager process, theyll need to reach out to you directly.Backers can pay the additional fee to get the item they had already backed in order to still get it when its ready. If they decline, the creator can issue them a refund, or find another resolution, the blog post says.While this tool helps offset rising costs, we recognize that every project and backer relationship is unique, Kickstarter said. Our goal is to provide you with the flexibility and transparency necessary to navigate those conversations with clarity and care.Like many American businesses, some U.S.-based Kickstarter projects rely on cheaper manufacturing in China, Vietnam, and other countries that are now subject to exorbitant tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. While the unexpected costs of the tariffs are devastating for many businesses that rely on global supply chains, Kickstarter projects have the additional unpleasant situation where people pay for something months and sometimes years before it is shipped to them. The entire conceit of the crowdfunding platform is someone can come up with a cool idea for something they want to make, price out how much money theyd need to raise in order to produce it, ask people for that money, and if they raise enough go off and do it and come back with the goods once theyre finished. Infamously, a lot of those Kickstarter projects never ship despite raising the money they asked for. Some have also had to go back to backers and ask for more money before shipping the project. But what the tariffs have done to Kickstarter now is on an entirely different scale.For example, many board games these days are initially funded on Kickstarter, and rely on manufacturing overseas. Stonemaier Games, a company that funded several of its board games on Kickstarter, last week announced that it filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of Trumps tariffs.We will not stand idle while our livelihoodand the livelihoods of thousands of small business owners and contractors in the U.S.are treated like pawns in a political game, Jamey Stegmaier, co-founder of Stonemaier Games, said in a press release. We now face a $14.50 tariff tax for every $10 we spent on manufacturing with our trusted long-term partner in China. For Stonemaier Games, that amounts to upcoming tariff payments of nearly $1.5 million.