BUFFALO, N.Y. — Experiencing a little bit of economic pain for more industries to come back to the U.S. is the reasoning for many who support tariffs, but for some American businesses, "Made in America" just isn’t possible.

About 70% of the items at Tara Gift Shoppe in Buffalo come directly from Ireland. Their customer base doesn't want those items made stateside. They want that authentic connection to Ireland.

“Kind of a mini-Ireland,” said owner Thomas Heneghan.

That's why a 20% tariff on imported products isn’t good news.  

For about 45 years, the Heneghan family has sold items directly from Ireland to the community.

“Mostly it’s Irish people," Heneghan said. "But it’s also everybody who loves Irish jewelry and Erin knitwear because it’s cold all the time.”

A 20% tariff will put them in a bind.

“You have to make a certain amount to pay your overhead," explained Heneghan. "You have to do the bump up, your normal retail bump up, which is at least double. So 20% becomes 40%, 25% becomes 50%.”  

That means a few extra bucks for a pack of tea, but for things like jewelry, which were already dealing with higher precious metals prices, it’ll be a $20-$30 bump up.

“I don't know if Western New York can afford to support the kind of bumps we're looking at," Heneghan said. "So it's a kind of a scary time for us.”

For a business like this, it’s not something that can shift production stateside.

“People don't want Claddagh rings from Des Moines, Iowa. They don't want Erin Knitwear from places like Albuquerque. They want stuff from Ireland," said Heneghan. "I can't get around that.”  

He’s not the only one dealing with the stress.

“This is the last order from another vendor who’s retiring,” he noted, opening up a box.

Right now, Heneghan is 50/50 on whether, under the current tariffs, he’ll be able to stay open long-term.

How would Heneghan feel if he had to close his doors?  

“Tough question,” Heneghan said.

That's because this is more than just stuff. It’s an identity.

“It's where we came from, so it's who we are and where we're going," noted Heneghan. "[If] you leave your heritage behind, who are you?”

Tara Gift Shoppe isn't the only place confused and concerned about the impact tariffs could have.  

Euro Deli and Gifts, which is basically a grocery store with food and drinks from across Europe, say they’re not seeing price raises yet because a lot of their items are stockpiled at a port. That means it could take a couple months until new shipments with tariffs hit their shelves.