Nika Cristiani joins Chris Cuomo again on NewsNation
“U.S. Businesses Are Being Forced to Pay Illegal Tariffs—or Lose Their Goods” — GYM IN A BOX® L.A. Founder Nika Cristiani Speaks Out
Grateful to be back on The Cuomo Show with GYM IN A BOX CEO & US Manufacturing expert Nika Cristiani 🎤
Thank you to Chris Cuomo and NewsNation for once again giving me the platform to speak—not just as the CEO and founder of GYM IN A BOX® L.A., but on behalf of small and mid-sized American businesses that are navigating real, daily operational pressure due to the illegal Trump tariffs that are still being charged at up to + 50 % for our electronics that can’t be sourced in the USA and have to be imported.
U.S. companies are still being forced to pay tariff taxes that have already been ruled illegal—or risk losing their goods entirely. Pay… or your shipments don’t move. And even after paying, products, prototypes, and critical components are being held at customs for weeks, sometimes months.
At GYM IN A BOX® L.A., we are building advanced wearable technology designed to help millions of Americans take control of their health. Demand is strong. Innovation is there. But instability like this makes it impossible to price accurately, scale responsibly, or commit to major retail partnerships.
This is not just our story—it’s an industry-wide bottleneck impacting U.S. manufacturing, import/export, and global competitiveness.
That’s exactly why we support FAF — Fix America First.
A coalition of business leaders coming together to demand accountability, operational clarity, and compensation for what companies have been forced to absorb.
I’m here today as the founder of GYM IN A BOX® L.A., but also as a U.S. manufacturer, importer, and exporter who is in the trenches every single day.
At GYM IN A BOX® L.A., we’ve built a company that helps millions of Americans get fitter, stronger, and take control of their health through wearable technology.
But right now—what we’re dealing with—it feels like the government is acting like rogue pirates and treating American businesses like ours as targets, not partners.
Let me explain this very clearly.
At GYM IN A BOX® L.A., we are still being forced to pay tariff taxes that have already been ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.
Yet nothing has stopped.
We are being told:
Pay… or your goods don’t move.
And these are not optional shipments.
These are our products, our prototypes, our technology components—the core of what we build at GYM IN A BOX® L.A.
If we don’t pay, they get sent back.
So we’re forced into it.
And in our industry—advanced wearable technology—we cannot source everything here in the United States. That’s just the reality of modern manufacturing.
Now here’s where it gets even worse.
Because of the government’s neglect, there is absolute chaos at customs.
Even after we pay these tariffs, our containers—with GYM IN A BOX® L.A. products, prototypes, and tech components—are still being held for weeks… sometimes months.
Think about that.
You pay everything they demand…
and your goods are still stuck.
That’s not a functioning system.
That’s a breakdown.
We’ve been paying these tariffs since what we call “Liberation Day 2025.”
And because of this ongoing instability, GYM IN A BOX® L.A. has not been able to move forward with multi-million dollar deals with QVC across two countries.
Not because demand isn’t there—our products perform, and the demand is strong.
But because we cannot price properly.
We cannot scale.
We cannot commit to delivery timelines when costs and conditions change constantly.
No serious retail partner will move forward under that level of uncertainty.
And this is bigger than just GYM IN A BOX® L.A.
This is happening to manufacturers, tech producers, importers, exporters across this country.
It stops growth.
It delays innovation.
It blocks American companies from competing globally.
And companies like ours—we don’t have massive legal teams or lobbyists.
We’re building the business… while fighting to protect it at the same time.
What’s also concerning is the message we’re hearing.
That there’s no time to deal with domestic business issues—that the focus is elsewhere.
But companies like GYM IN A BOX® L.A., and thousands of others, are the backbone of this economy.
And right now, we are being financially drained and operationally blocked at the same time.
That’s why we launched FAF — Fix America First.
This is not political.
This is practical.
We are bringing together business owners across the country who are facing the same reality—and pushing for accountability and compensation for what they’ve been forced to pay.
That kind of leadership matters—because small and mid-sized businesses cannot navigate this alone.
And Chris Cuomo , I also want to say this—
If it wasn’t for you and NewsNation, this issue would not even be part of the national conversation.
So thank you for giving a voice to what’s really happening on the ground.
At the end of the day, it’s very simple.
We’re not asking for special treatment.
We’re asking for fairness. You cannot just focus on starting wars and neglecting the backbone of America - Small Business Owners.
If something is ruled illegal, it should stop—and it should be corrected.
Because companies like GYM IN A BOX® L.A. are not just businesses.
We are helping people live stronger, healthier lives—and we should be supported in doing that, not penalized for it.
We’re going to keep building.
We’re going to keep innovating.
And we’re going to keep speaking up—until this gets fixed.
And Chris Cuomo—without your platform, this issue wouldn’t even be part of the national conversation. That matters.
We will continue to build.
We will continue to innovate.
And we will continue to speak up—until this gets fixed.
“You can’t claim to support American innovation while financially suffocating the companies driving it.”
— Nika Cristiani
Founder & CEO, GYM IN A BOX® L.A.
#SmallBusiness #GymInABox #ChrisCuomo #AdamMockler