Trump’s tariffs could boost some ‘Made in America’ small businesses. But for many, they only hurt

It takes about 20 steps for tufts of raw wool to become a signature Faribault Mill blanket, and it all happens under one roof in this southern Minnesota city.

It takes about 20 steps for tufts of raw wool to become a signature Faribault Mill blanket, and it all happens under one roof in this southern Minnesota city. It’s a symphonic process that has been honed over 160 years and now one where employees (including third- and fourth-generation mill staff members) work alongside a blend of state-of-the-art machinery and 19th century equipment from start to finish. The only things missing from the mill are the sheep themselves: Many of them are busy grazing fields a few states over in the Rocky Mountains. It’s been largely business as usual at the Faribault Mill in recent months, a state of affairs that has very recently become a luxury for scores of US companies. Faribault Mill remains overwhelmingly insulated from the uncertainty injected into the US economy as President Donald Trump’s sweeping and steep tariffs upend operations for businesses reliant upon global trade. “We haven’t had to create a war room; we’ve just continued to make blankets the way we’ve been doing it for a long time,” Ross Widmoyer, Faribault Mill’s chief executive officer, told CNN. If anything, it’s only gotten busier. Widmoyer has been fielding a slew of calls from potential new customers, retailers trying to stave off shortages and shore up their shelves come fall and Christmastime.