Houghton Horns in Keller specializes in all kinds of instruments. “We are a brass instrument specialty shop,” Houghton Horns business manager Kacie Wright said. “French horns, trumpets, trombones, euphoniums, tubas.” Many of the items come from China, Switzerland, Germany and other cou ntries. Wright said President Donald Trump’s liberation day tariffs have impacted them. “Unfortunately, as a small business, we just don’t have the margin to absorb most of the tariffs,” Wright said. “We have had to raise prices on our products. Most of them in the range of 10 to 30 percent.” Online sales have also dropped about 40 percent over the previous year. “Online customers, a lot of them are very price-conscious,” Wright said. “If we’ve had to raise our prices 30%, they are just going to go buy it off Amazon instead. That’s why she joined a national movement called “We Pay the Tariffs”.She joined other businesses in a national call explaining their plight. “We really absolutely need an advocacy group that can help explain what the experience has been like for us and fight for us because we can’t do it ourselves,” Wright said. Besides the financial burden on businesses and customers, she fears there could be another ripple effect. “Today, kids are not going to be able to afford their starter instruments, and I really worry what this is going to do 10 years, 20 years down the line to music education and the affordability of music,” Wright said. As the haunting tariff tune continues to play on, Wright hopes it will soon reach its final note. “If we do hear some day for real tariffs are gone for good now, I can sit down, have a five-minute party, and then start lowering prices on our website,” Wright said. ...read more read less