YouTuber and entrepreneur Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, isn't shy about calling out policies that don’t make sense, especially when they affect his growing business. In a viral post on Tuesday, he reacted to the U.S. tariff hike by pointing out a surprising side effect: it now costs less to make his Feastables chocolate bars abroad than in the U.S.
“Ironically because of all the new tariffs it is now way cheaper to make our chocolate bars we sell globally NOT in America because other countries don't have a 20%+ tariff on our cogs,” he wrote on X.
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MrBeast Sounds the Alarm for Small Businesses
In a follow-up post, he explained that his company already pays more for ethically sourced ingredients. “We pay our farmers a living income, use fair trade certified beans, etc. so I was already spending a lot on cocoa. A random price hike was pretty brutal ngl,” he said.
MrBeast added that while his team will find a way to manage the costs, he's worried about others. “Could really be a nail in the coffin for them,” he said, referring to small businesses that may not have the flexibility or volume to absorb the added costs.
A Pause That Came Just in Time
Just one day later, President Donald Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs. The move followed the rollout of sweeping reciprocal tariffs that had only just gone into effect. The pause applies immediately to non-retaliating countries. China, however, will face a steeper 145% tariff, which Trump said was due to its “lack of respect” for global markets.
Wedbush analyst Dan Ives said the pause was exactly what the market needed. “This was the news we and everyone on the Street was waiting for,” Ives said in a note. He described the days leading up to the announcement as a “twilight zone week” and warned that the damage to the economy had already begun.
Ives also cautioned that the trade war with China remains a major obstacle. “China remains the biggest X variable related to Apple and the broader supply chain,” he said.
A Pattern of Speaking Out
MrBeast's frustration with the system isn't limited to tariffs. In January, he took aim at the state of U.S. healthcare after releasing a video where he helped 2,000 amputees walk again.
“Many lived in America and it feels so disgusting that in a country with this much wealth, a fucken YouTuber is their only option to get a prosthetic leg. We need to fix this,” he wrote.
Whether it's tariffs or access to basic healthcare, MrBeast is using his platform to spotlight the disconnect between American wealth and the barriers faced by everyday people and businesses.
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