内容摘要：One small business which is part of franchise, told the BBC that they lost access to their account when another franchisee gained a blue-tick verification. As a result of that their account was flagged as a clone.

One small business which is part of franchise, told the BBC that they lost access to their account when another franchisee gained a blue-tick verification. As a result of that their account was flagged as a clone.

Those in the alcohol business said the industry had already been struggling to emerge from the shadow of the pandemic and its after-shocks, including inflation, which has prompted many Americans to cut back on dining out and drinking.Smaller firms, who typically have less financial cushion and ability to swallow a sudden 25% jump in cost, will bear the brunt of the disruption.

"I'm pretty frustrated," said California-based importer Ben Scott, whose nine-person business Pueblo de Sabor brings in brands from Mexico such as Mal Bien and Lalocura."There's just a huge cost that's going to affect so many people in ways other than they're paying a couple bucks more for a cocktail, which doesn't sound like a tragedy."Fred Sanchez has spent years pushing to expand his business, Bad Hombre Importing, a small California-based importer and distributor of Mexican agave-based spirits like Agua del Sol, and was recently working on deals in New York and Illinois.

But his potential partners started hesitating as Trump's tariff talk ramped up last year.Now, instead of expanding, he is contemplating selling off his stock of liquor and possibly shutting down. He said he had little capacity to absorb the jump in costs and saw little scope for raising prices in the current economy.

"25% is just not something that we can realistically pass onto the consumer," he said.

Sanchez said he believed that Trump might be using tariffs as a negotiating tactic, and the tax could be short-lived. Still, for his business, damage is already done.The Queen described the dog as "lovely" and said: "Well I'm very honoured to meet him."

Ms Binns, from Preston, Lancashire, said "he did pile it on a bit" by asking for a belly rub.Ms Binns, an equalities officer who works for Lancashire County Council, added: "He knows how to impress.

"I've always said he's an attention-seeker, he's gone up a notch with this."The King and Queen hosted about 8,000 guests in the palace's garden as community stalwarts, charity workers and leading figures enjoyed afternoon tea on the lawns.