Jo-Ann Fabric creates online petition over tariffs

CLEVELAND » The national retail chain Jo-Ann Fabric wants its customers to sign an online petition and send letters to members of Congress and to the White House urging exemptions from tariffs on hundreds of products the company imports from China. A company official said Thursday that without the exemptions, Jo-Ann customers would “immediately suffer the consequences of these goods being taxed” when the company is forced to raise prices.

Amanda Hayes, a spokeswoman for the Hudson, Ohio-based retailer, said more than 20,000 people have signed the petition since it went online Monday. The biggest “hit” for the

25-percent tariffs, she said, would be fabrics, fleece and yarn the privately-held company sells online and at its

870 retail stores. “These are the components we sell in our stores that people purchase and make things that are made in America,” she said.

Hayes estimated that around 20 percent of JoAnn’s customers are small business owners and charitable organizations that buy material from the company to create handmade products for sale. She added that if those entrepreneurs and charities are forced to raise prices on clothes, blankets, quilts and other items they produce that their customers might opt to buy less expensive imported goods not subject to tariffs imposed during the ongoing trade dispute between China and President Donald Trump’s administration.