ReportWire

Tag: Tariffs

  • Much of the World Stops Sending Mail to U.S.

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    Do you have a package coming your way from overseas? (I do, it’s a gift, and I’m very annoyed.) Hopefully it’s not urgent, because it’s going to be a minute before that thing gets to our shores. Questions surrounding the Trump administration’s ongoing tariff regime, including a policy to end an exemption from taxing small packages, have resulted in postal services across the world simply choosing not to ship to the United States until things get sorted out, according to Bloomberg.

    Central to this problem is the de minimis exemption, which allows packages valued at no more than $800 to enter the country without being subject to tariffs. According to the White House, about four million packages that qualify for the policy enter the United States every single day, amounting to more than 1.35 billion per year. Trump has rolled back that policy considerably, setting the new bar at a value of under $100 to enter the country duty-free. Everything else will be subject to the tariffs that apply to the country from where the package is being shipped.

    That new policy is set to go into effect on August 29, and the rest of the world is throwing up its hands about it. Per Bloomberg, there are still questions as to how the tariffs will be collected and how countries are even supposed to submit the relevant information to US authorities. Instead of dealing with all that, some countries are opting to simply not ship to America for the time being.

    Bloomberg reported that Korea’s postal service, Korea Post, will stop sending packages to the US starting Tuesday. Singapore’s SingPost and Austria’s postal provider will do the same, just a day earlier. Norway and Finland are getting an even bigger head start, announcing that they will stop sending packages to America starting on Saturday, and Belgium is halting shipments as of Friday. Deutsche Post in Germany and the Czech Republic’s postal service have already stopped shipping packages state-side due to the confusion. Other countries, including Australia and the United Kingdom, announced temporary suspensions until they get things sorted.

    Presumably, these things will get straightened out, as this pause should be too much of a pain point for the Trump administration to drag this out forever, though it does seem to have a penchant for self-inflicted wounds. But the fact that this whole plan has been applied so haphazardly does not exactly infuse the rest of the world with confidence that things are going to be stable and predictable when doing business with the US.

    Meanwhile, it’ll be low-income Americans hit the hardest by this new policy, per the National Bureau of Economic Research, which found that eliminating the de minimis exemption would increase average tariffs faced by the poorest ZIP codes in the country to about 12%, nearly double the impact on richer ZIP codes. In total, the researchers warn that ditching di minimis will reduce consumer welfare by between $11 billion and $13 billion per year. But hey, that’s a small price to pay for pissing off the whole world to little actual gain.

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    AJ Dellinger

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  • Canada Will Match US Tariff Exemptions Under USMCA Trade Pact – KXL

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    President Donald Trump speaks during an event to announce new tariffs in the Rose Garden at the White House on April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)

    TORONTO (AP) — Canada is dropping retaliatory tariffs to match U.S. tariff exemptions for goods covered under the United States-Mexico-Canada trade pact.

    Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada will include the carve-out that the U.S. has on Canadian goods under the 2020 free trade deal that shields the vast majority of goods from the punishing duties.

    The move is designed to reset trade talks between the two countries.

    The USMCA is up for review in 2026, and Carney called the trade pact a unique advantage for Canada at a time when it is clear that the U.S. is charging for access to its market.

    More about:

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    Grant McHill

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  • Canada to remove retaliatory tariffs on many U.S. goods

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    Canada’s U.S. trade minister on Trump tariffs



    Canada’s U.S. trade minister says country is “obviously disappointed” by Trump tariffs

    07:34

    Canada will remove retaliatory tariffs on many U.S. products that are covered under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, Prime Minister Mark Carney said at a press conference on Friday.

    The move by the Canadian prime minister is expected to reduce tensions with the U.S., as the two nations work to hash out a trade agreement. 

    Reached for comment before the press conference, the White House said, “We welcome this move by Canada, which is long overdue,” in a statement to CBS News.

    “We look forward to continuing our discussions with Canada on the Administration’s trade and national security concerns,” the White House said. 

    Canada imposed 25% tariffs on an extensive list of American-made goods in March. Without the duties in place, American products including alcohol, clothing, and shoes will not face levies when imported into Canada.

    Megan Cerullo

    Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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  • How Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s Confront Tariff Pressures

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    Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said tariff-driven price increases will likely persist through the rest of 2025. Ethan Miller/Getty Images

    The financial impact of the Trump administration’s shifting tariff policy is reaching the shelves of America’s biggest retailers. Walmart, the largest of them all, warned this week that levy-driven price hikes will only become more common. “As we replenish inventory at post-tariff price levels, we’ve continued to see our costs increase each week,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the retailer’s second-quarter earnings call. He added that the trend will likely persist through the rest of 2025.

    Walmart first flagged price increases back in May, cautioning it could not fully absorb the financial hit of tariffs—a warning drew President Donald Trump’s ire. Trump publicly demanded that Walmart “EAT THE TARIFFS.” Around one-third of Walmart’s merchandise is produced abroad, with heavy reliance on imports from China, Mexico, Vietnam and India.

    Despite the pressures, Walmart topped revenue estimates with $177.4 billion sales for the May-July quarter, up 4.8 percent year-over-year. Net income, however, came in at $7 billion, missing Wall Street’s profit expectations. McMillon said customer behavior hasn’t shifted dramatically overall, but noted that middle- and lower-income shoppers are more likely to switch products or categories in response to rising prices compared with higher-income households.

    Target, one of Walmart’s biggest rivals, has so far been more hesitant to raise prices. “What we’ve said, and it continues to be our position, is that we’ll take price as a last resort,” Target CFO Rick Gomez said during its Aug. 20 earnings call.

    Still, Target acknowledged the pressure tariffs are creating. The company, which announced this week that CEO Brian Cornell will step down next year, projected a low single-digit sales decline in 2025. “Obviously, the straight cost impact of tariffs will be with us as long as the tariffs are with us,” Fiddelke told analysts. Target nevertheless beat estimates on both revenue and net income for the quarter.

    Home Depot, meanwhile, has reversed course on its earlier pledge to avoid price hikes. In May, the company said it would instead get rid of some product options. But during its Aug. 19 earnings call, Home Depot’s executive vice president of merchandising, Billy Bastick, said that plan has changed. “There’ll be some modest price movement in some categories, but it won’t be broad-based,” he said, adding that Home Depot is also scaling back promotional activity in certain areas to offset tariff costs.

    The broader economic environment is weighing on the company’s performance. Home Depot reported $45 billion in sales and $4.5 billion in net income for the quarter, falling short of Wall Street’s expectations for the first time since 2014.

    Home Depot’s rival, Lowe’s, in contrast, impressed Wall Street this week. The home improvement chain reported $2.4 billion in net income on nearly $24 billion in revenue, which matched analyst expectations. CEO Marvin Ellison emphasized the company’s strategy of sourcing more goods domestically. About 60 percent of Lowe’s merchandise now comes from the U.S., while imports from China have dropped to 20 percent—down significantly from seven years ago.

    Pricing remains a “dynamic” environment for the time being, said Ellison, who added that Lowe’s will fluctuate its prices depending on additional factors like competitive responses and internal algorithms. “We’re managing this literally in real time because this is uncharted waters,” he said.

    How Walmart, Target, Home Depot and Lowe’s Confront Tariff Pressures

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    Alexandra Tremayne-Pengelly

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  • The craziest deportation goals

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    Trump’s campaign promises, coming to fruition: “Until June, deportations had lagged behind immigration arrests and detentions,” reports The New York Times. “By the first week of August, deportations reached nearly 1,500 people per day, according to the latest data, a pace not seen since the Obama administration.”

    So far during President Donald Trump’s second term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has deported 180,000 people. The administration aims for 1 million this year, but if current numbers hold, it’ll be closer to 400,000. Stephen Miller, the ardent immigration restrictionist who has Trump’s ear, said on Fox News in late May that ICE would set a goal of a “minimum” of 3,000 arrests a day—far more than what it’s currently logging. But that’s beside the point: The administration seems interested in aggressive benchmarks and willing to use whatever tactics to get there, including compromising on apprehending the largest threats and instead going after people who’ve simply overstayed (a civil offense, not a criminal one).

    In fact, it’s looking very possible that the numbers will be juiced in order for these goals to be met, since the Trump administration enjoys its bragging rights. “The Department of Homeland Security says the total number of deportations so far under Mr. Trump is much higher—at 332,000. That figure includes people who are turned around or quickly deported at U.S. borders by Customs and Border Protection,” per the Times. There’s a fair bit of space between 180,000 and 332,000; expect more creative accounting as enforcement actions heat up further.

    Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem is pushing for ICE to simply buy its own planes. “ICE uses charter planes to deport immigrants and has done so for years. The agency has typically chartered eight to 14 planes at a time for deportation flights, according to Jason Houser, who served as ICE chief of staff from 2022 to 2023. He said that allowed the Biden administration to deport roughly 15,000 immigrants per month on charter flights,” reports NBC News. To double these numbers, Houser says, you’d need to purchase about 30 planes, at $80–400 million a pop; so purchasing 30 passenger planes could cost anywhere from $2.4 billion to $12 billion. It’s estimated that ICE had chartered a little more than 1,000 flights by the end of July, at $100,000 to $200,000 per flight.

    Case in point: Angel Rodrigo Minguela Palacios, a strawberry delivery guy who had overstayed a tourist visa to escape his native Coahuila, a state in northern Mexico where he’d been the victim of stabbings and kidnappings, had been working for the same company for eight years and raising three kids with his girlfriend of eight years when Border Patrol nabbed him, reports The Los Angeles Times. He had been dropping off strawberries in Los Angeles’ Little Tokyo, outside of where California Gov. Gavin Newsom was holding an event—and where Border Patrol has lately taken to assembling.

    Border Patrol detained him and threw him in the “B-18” federal detention center in downtown L.A., where he’s been since.

    “When asked last week whether the person arrested outside the news conference had a criminal record, a Homeland Security spokesperson said the agency would share a criminal rap sheet when it was available,” reports the L.A. Times. “After four follow-up emails from a reporter, [Spokeswoman Tricia] McLaughlin on Saturday said agents had arrested ‘two illegal aliens’ in the vicinity of Newsom’s news conference—including ‘an alleged Tren de Aragua gang member and narcotics trafficker.’” Reporters asked for clarification as to whether that describes one person or two; then, “when presented with Minguela’s biographical information Monday, the department said he had been arrested because he overstayed his visa—a civil, not criminal, offense.”

    It appears Minguela has no criminal record, and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. The kicker: When Minguela handed one of the agents arresting him a “Know Your Rights” card he keeps in his wallet, the agent reportedly said, “This is of no use to me.”

    Scenes from New York: Wild. But I do believe it.

    QUICK HITS

    • “SpaceX’s impressive track record, including the construction of the Starlink satellite-internet network and its innovation on reusable rocket technology, has had a deep impact on the space industry and US space policy. It has also made SpaceX among the most highly valued private companies in the world,” reports Bloomberg. But now, Starship—the first fully reusable orbital rocket, which Elon Musk says will be able to bring humans to Mars—is plagued by issues, which Musk is attempting to solve by shuffling around engineering talent internally. “To make Starship work, SpaceX is betting that it can draw resources away from its core rocket program at a time when the company faces weak competition. Some planned launches of SpaceX’s Starlink satellites on Falcon 9 rockets would potentially be pushed from the end of this year to early 2026 because of the surge of Falcon engineers working on Starship, the people familiar with the company’s planning said.”
    • “Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard began a fresh strike Tuesday against national security officials whom President Donald Trump deems political enemies, announcing she had revoked the clearances of 37 people, including several currently serving U.S. intelligence officials,” reports The Washington Post. Many of the officials who had their clearances revoked were involved in the 2016 Russian interference investigations and the Trump impeachment.
    • Really useful chart to help you make sense of how tariffs will raise prices:
    • Relatedly: “Automakers can’t eat the cost of tariffs forever, and September is a convenient time to adjust prices, as the 2026 models begin arriving in showrooms,” reports Axios. Interestingly, “if companies try to offset tariffs on imported cars with higher prices, they’ll need to make adjustments across their portfolio to maintain reasonable gaps between vehicle segments. [General Motors’] entry-level Chevrolet Trax, for example, is imported from South Korea, now subject to a 15% tariff. But if it raised the price of the Trax, it might end up costing about the same as a Chevy Equinox, currently made in Mexico but moving to the U.S. in 2027.” Industrywide, forecasters predict a roughly 6 percent increase in prices next year, best-case scenario.
    • Breaking the law:
    • “A former top City Hall advisor and current campaign confidante to Mayor Eric Adams attempted to give money to a reporter from THE CITY following a campaign event in Harlem Wednesday,” reports The City. “The failed payoff—a wad of cash in a red envelope stuffed inside an opened bag of Herr’s Sour Cream & Onion ripple potato chips—was made by Winnie Greco, a longtime Adams ally who resigned last year from her position as the mayor’s liaison to the Asian community after she was targeted in multiple investigations.”
    • Why elites still worship socialism:

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    Liz Wolfe

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  • 4 reasons why the Trump tariffs haven’t caused U.S. inflation to soar

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    Despite a barrage of new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration this year on dozens of U.S. trade partners, the prices of goods and services across the U.S. have defied many economists’ expectations and remained relatively stable.

    Economists caution that just because tariffs have yet to trigger a renewed bout of inflation, there is no guarantee that prices won’t surge later this year. They note that recent data shows a modest rise in the cost of items including clothing, home furnishings and appliances. 

    Tariffs — meaning the rate importers must pay at the border for imported goods — also take a long time to seep into the economy. That’s because companies often trying to hold off on passing along higher costs to customers to avoid losing market share to rivals. 

    Yet experts acknowledge that tariffs have yet to unleash the kind severe inflationary pressures that could cause prices to spike. For their part, White House officials have consistently maintained that foreign exporters — not American consumers — will bear the brunt of added tariff costs. 

    “Despite the doom-and-gloom predictions of inflation and recession, it’s been months since Liberation Day, and inflation is trending towards an annualized rate not seen since President Trump’s first term, while a recent [Council of Economic Advisers] analysis found that prices of imported goods are actually declining,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to CBS MoneyWatch, alluding to the baseline and other tariffs President Trump originally announced on April 2. 

    Here are four reasons economists say explain why inflation isn’t jumping despite the highest U.S. tariffs in decades. 

    Tariffs aren’t as high as many people expected

    Despite President Trump’s many threats to jack up levies on imports, the actual average tariff rate being charged on U.S. imports is not as high as what has been announced, data shows. 

    The average tariff rate on U.S. imports in June was 9% — well below the 15% that many economists were forecasting earlier this year following Mr. Trump’s slew of tariff announcements, according to investment advisory firm Capital Economics. 

    “It’s not so much that the reaction to tariffs has been low, it’s that the effective tariff rate increase has been relatively limited up until June,” Mark Cus, an economist at Barclays, told CBS MoneyWatch.

    Actual U.S. tariffs remain lower than earlier estimates in part because countries facing steeper levies are sending fewer goods to the U.S., according to Barclays and Capital Economics. By contrast, countries with below average tariff rates are shipping more goods to the U.S. 

    The upshot: Average tariff rates on imports are lower than many economists were projecting earlier this year. 

    Additionally, many goods imported into the U.S. have been exempted from steeper tariffs. Of the roughly $258 billion worth of imports that hit the U.S. retail market in June, only 48% were subject to tariffs, Barclays data shows. For example, pharmaceuticals, some electronics, and many imports from Canada and Mexico are exempt from any new tariffs.

    “While dutiable goods face elevated tariff rates, a substantial portion of U.S. imports remains duty-free,” Barclays analysts said in a recent report. “This is a major contributor to the low effective tariff rate.”

    Companies stocked up before higher tariffs kicked in

    U.S. retailers built up their inventories earlier this year in expectation that the Trump administration would hike tariffs on imported products and parts. Many retailers are still selling those non-tariffed products, allowing them to delay price hikes, experts said. 

    For example, “There was a big jump in imports of goods from Canada that would later be tariffed before the tariffs kicked in, and perhaps imports of those goods in May and June were relatively low, and that shows up as a smaller amount of dutiable goods,” Barclays’ Cus told CBS MoneyWatch.

    Eventually, experts warn, retailers will exhaust those lower-cost goods imported earlier in the year, which could lead to higher prices down the road. 

    Retailers are swallowing the costs — for now

    For now, many retailers are eating the additional tariff costs. 

    Businesses “have been willing to absorb the initial hit via lower margins, although we suspect that was mostly a temporary development as those firms waited for more clarity on where tariff rates would settle,” analysts with investment adviser Capital Economics said in a recent report. 

    “We doubt that is a sustainable outcome over the longer term, however. As the uncertainty over tariff levels eases over the next couple of weeks, giving retailers more clarity on rates over the next year or two, we would expect more firms to raise prices,” they said. 

    Tariffs tend to boost inflation gradually

    Tariffs typically take many months to seep into company supply chains and and show up in the prices consumers pay at the store. 

    The full impact of tariffs plays out not immediately but over an extended period of time, peaking roughly a year after they take effect, a June Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas report noted.  That means any U.S. tariffs imposed this year could would be unlikely to have much of an impact on inflation until later this year and into 2026.

    “Up to now there has been only limited passthrough from tariffs into final consumer prices, but we still expect the impact to gradually mount in the second half of this year,” Capital Economics analysts said in a report. 

    A final possibility is that the fears that the Trump administration’s turn toward protectionist trade policies would trigger another severe bout of inflation are overblown. The White House has maintained that such a shift will protect jobs, and make the U.S. more competitive globally.

    “The Administration has consistently maintained that the cost of tariffs will be paid by foreign exporters who rely on access to the American economy, the world’s best and biggest consumer market,” the White House’s Desai said in a statement. 

    Megan Cerullo

    Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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  • Trump’s rebate plan will push America toward a hyperprogressive tax code

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    President Donald Trump’s tariffs are bad. But even if one were opposed to the tariffs on principle, they might be seduced by the revenue they generate and the potential of that revenue to make some progress toward reducing the deficit. The tariffs are expected to collect $300 billion annually—nearly matching the amount collected by the corporate income tax ($350 billion). It’s not a small amount of money. Trump has stated that his goal is to eliminate income taxes and replace them with tariff revenue.

    Last month, Trump and Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) proposed tariff rebate checks, similar to the stimulus checks that were handed out during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an amount equal to the revenue that is to be collected—or possibly more. Hawley’s legislation proposes sending at least $600 to eligible adults and dependent children, and Trump has voiced support for sending money to “people of a certain income level,” who are most likely to spend that money quickly rather than save or invest it. This is a massively inflationary impulse, much like what we saw during the pandemic, and it will expand the deficit even more. This is a bad idea layered on top of bad ideas, and it will make the tax code even more progressive by effectively creating a negative income tax for those in the bottom tax brackets while fueling inflation.

    We are currently running a budget deficit of close to $2 trillion, which Trump has made practically no effort to reduce by cutting expenses. He pledges instead to cut the deficit by increasing revenue from tariffs but plans to hand out the windfall in the form of rebate checks. Our last experience with a give-back program like this was a quarter-century ago. 

    The government was running a fairly large budget surplus in FY 2000—totaling over $236 billion—and lawmakers made impassioned arguments about how to spend it: Some wanted new domestic programs, others pressed for tax cuts, while then–Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan urged paying down the debt and retiring Treasury bonds. When George W. Bush became president shortly thereafter, he proposed immediate tax relief in the form of $300 and $600 rebate checks to singles and married couples, respectively, a key piece of the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001. 

    Bush prevailed, and roughly 95 million households received checks. The surplus evaporated, federal spending surged on defense and homeland security following 9/11 later that year, and that was the end of the surplus—forever.

    It is possible that the tariff rebate checks will not be inflationary. No one knows all the variables that cause inflation. Milton Friedman famously argued that it was “always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon,” but inflation is also a psychological phenomenon—when people believe prices will rise, they often act in ways that make it happen. Trump is playing with fire, especially as he is in search of a Fed chairman who will be amenable to large interest rate cuts. The 2021–22 experience is instructive: a combination of pandemic-era stimulus checks, ultralow interest rates, and supply-chain bottlenecks helped fuel the fastest inflation in four decades, peaking at over 9 percent in mid-2022. We could find ourselves in an environment where Trump successfully creates inflation with the rebate checks and then has a captive Federal Reserve that is powerless to do anything about it.

    The Bush rebate checks totaled about $38 billion. Trump’s proposal could amount to hundreds of billions. Still, the inflationary effect would depend partly on whether households spend the checks quickly or save them.

    One of the criticisms of Bush’s rebate checks was that they were unevenly applied and did not go to the people who mainly paid the taxes—they went to everyone, which is a very populist approach. The argument could be made that, by aiming these proposed rebate checks specifically at lower-income households, they will benefit those who shoulder the hidden cost of tariffs, since tariffs disproportionately raise the price of basic consumer goods such as clothing, food, and household items, which make up a larger share of lower-income budgets.

    It’s possible that one of the ulterior motives of the tariffs is flattening the tax code. This would shift the tax burden to people of all income levels, rather than the current income tax, which burdens half of the population while the other half pays very little or nothing. That is not something that has been articulated by the administration, however, and returning all the collected revenue seems counterproductive.

    Trump has also proposed eliminating income taxes entirely for people making less than $200,000 a year, which would result in only the top 5 percent of taxpayers paying any income taxes at all. Trump is trending toward policies that would have only the wealthy pay taxes—an idea shared by the likes of Sens. Bernie Sanders (I–Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D–Mass.). Fiscal conservatives, however, voted for Trump in droves on his promises to reduce the deficit and lower taxes, and they are having buyer’s remorse. We shouldn’t have tariffs, and to the extent that we have income taxes at all, they should be flat and fair. Instead, we are headed toward a hyperprogressive tax code, accompanied by growth-killing tariffs.

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    Jared Dillian

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  • Tariffs will take a $100 million bite out of Estee Lauder’s bottom line, company says

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    The S&P 500 dropped 1% and was on track for its worst day since the first of the month. It’s also heading for a fourth straight loss after setting an all-time high last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 115 points, or 0.3%, as of 10:50 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 1.8% lower.

    Nvidia, whose chips are powering much of the world’s move into AI, dropped 3.7% and was on track to be the heaviest weight on Wall Street for a second straight day following its 3.5% fall on Tuesday.

    Palantir Technologies, another AI darling, sank 9.3% to add to its 9.4% loss from the day before.

    One possible contributor to the swoon was a study from MIT’s Nanda Initiative that warned most corporations are not yet seeing any measurable return from their generative AI investments, according to Ulrike Hoffmann-Burchardi, global head of equities at UBS Global Wealth Management.

    But such companies have also been facing criticism for a while that their stock prices simply shot too high, too fast amid the furor around AI and became too expensive. Nvidia, whose profit report scheduled for next week is one of Wall Street’s next major events, had soared 35.5% for the year so far before Tuesday. Palantir had surged even more, more than doubling.

    The tech stocks still have supporters, though, who say AI will bring the next generational revolution in business.

    Mixed profit reports from big U.S. retailers helped keep the rest of the market in check.

    TJX, the company behind the TJ Maxx and Marshalls stores, climbed 4.4% after beating analysts’ forecasts for profit and revenue. It also raised its forecast for profit over its full fiscal year, while CEO Ernie Herrman said TJX is seeing “strong demand at each of our U.S. and international businesses” and that its current quarter is off to a strong start.

    Lowe’s added 0.9% after the home-improvement retailer delivered a profit for the latest quarter that topped analysts’ expectations. It also said it agreed to buy Foundation Building Materials, a distributor of drywall, ceiling systems and other interior building products, for about $8.8 billion.

    Target, meanwhile, tumbled 7.3% even though it edged past analysts’ expectations for profit in the spring. The struggling retailer said that CEO Brian Cornell plans to step down Feb. 1 and that an insider, 20-year veteran Michael Fiddelke, will replace him. He helped reenergize the company, but it has struggled to turn around weak sales in a more competitive post-COVID retail landscape.

    Estee Lauder dropped 5.8% after offering a forecast for profit this upcoming fiscal year that fell short of Wall Street’s estimates. The beauty company said it expects tariffs to shave roughly $100 million off its upcoming earnings.

    La-Z-Boy sank 13.4% after the furniture maker’s profit and revenue for the spring came up shy of analysts’ expectations. CEO Melinda Whittington said it’s contending with “soft industry demand” and that it’s looking at potential alternatives “to address financial pressure from non-core’ parts” of its business.

    The week’s biggest news for Wall Street is likely arriving on Friday, when Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will give a highly anticipated speech in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The setting has been home to big policy announcements from the Fed in the past, and the hope on Wall Street is that Powell will hint that an interest rate cut is coming soon.

    The Fed has kept its main interest rate steady this year, primarily because of the fear of the possibility that President Donald Trump’s tariffs could push inflation higher. But a surprisingly weak report on job growth across the country may be superseding that.

    Treasury yields have come down sharply on expectations for coming cuts to interest rates, and the yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to 4.28% from 4.30% late Tuesday.

    In stock markets abroad, indexes were mixed across Europe and Asia.

    London’s FTSE 100 rose 1.1% despite a report that said inflation in the U.K. rose more than expected through July, in part due to soaring airfares and food prices.

    Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.5% after Japan reported that its exports fell slightly more than expected in July, pressured by higher tariffs on goods shipped to the U.S. Imports also fell from a year ago.

    Hong Kong’s Hang Seng added 0.2%. Shares that trade there of Chinese toy company Pop Mart International Group soared 12.5% after its CEO said its annual revenue could top $4 billion this year and announced the release of a mini version of its popular Labubu dolls.

    Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year’s list.

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    Stan Choe, The Associated Press

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  • S&P holds U.S. credit rating steady, saying tariff revenue will offset weaker finances

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    S&P Global Ratings reaffirmed its AA+ credit rating for the U.S., saying that new revenue raised by the Trump administration’s tariffs will help offset the tax cuts authorized by the Republicans’  One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

    The credit ratings agency, which issued its new assessment of the nation’s fiscal health late Monday, said that it is holding its AA+/A-1+ rating steady, with a stable outlook. 

    The fresh analysis comes after Moody’s Ratings, another large credit ratings agency, downgraded the U.S. in May, highlighting investor concerns about the nation’s growing debt and policy uncertainty sparked by President Trump’s trade policies. While S&P highlighted a range of economic concerns in its report, including the impact of new tax cuts against a backdrop of already high U.S. debt and deficits, the agency also underscored the resiliency of the nation’s economy as well as the new tariff revenue generated by the Trump administration.

    “Amid the rise in effective tariff rates, we expect meaningful tariff revenue to generally offset weaker fiscal outcomes that might otherwise be associated with the recent fiscal legislation, which contains both cuts and increases in tax and spending,” S&P analysts wrote in the ratings note. 

    The report added, “The ratings on the U.S. are based on its wealthy, diversified and resilient economy, with per capita GDP over $89,000 in 2025. Since the pandemic, U.S. growth has far surpassed that of its peers.”

    The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. 

    The fresh ratings assessment comes as the U.S. economy is showing signs of a slowdown, with GDP decelerating to an average rate of 1.25% during the first half of the year, compared with 2.8% in 2024. The job market also faltered in July, with employers adding a disappointing 73,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department — far fewer than economists had forecast.

    The weak jobs data suggests that businesses are delaying hiring amid the uncertainty created by the Trump administration’s new tariff regime, which has been exacerbated by numerous postponements and rate changes. 

    Amid those headwinds, the revenue generated from tariffs is surging: The U.S. government collected about $30 billion from import duties in July, according to the Treasury Department. That amounts to a 242% jump in tariff revenue since July 2024. 

    While that new revenue will help bolster the nation’s finances, it comes at a cost to American consumers and businesses, economists say. Tariffs are paid by U.S. importers — from small businesses to large retailers and manufacturers — when they accept goods from foreign countries at U.S. ports. Typically, those businesses then raise their prices to cover the costs of these duties, according to economists. 

    Because of that dynamic, tariffs are viewed as a tax on consumers by economists, with the Tax Policy Center, a tax-focused think tank, estimating that the new import duties will cost the average taxpayer about $2,700 in additional costs in 2026. 

    Aimee Picchi

    Aimee Picchi is the associate managing editor for CBS MoneyWatch, where she covers business and personal finance. She previously worked at Bloomberg News and has written for national news outlets including USA Today and Consumer Reports.

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  • Home Depot says it will raise some prices because of tariffs

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    (CNN) — Home Depot said Tuesday that some of its prices could be going up because of the cost of tariffs.

    Until now, America’s largest home improvement retailer has limited what it has said about the impact of tariffs on its prices. But after reporting quarterly results Tuesday, CFO Richard McPhail said Home Depot would have to implement some price increases as a result of the Trump administration’s taxes on imports.

    “For some imported goods, tariff rates are significantly higher today than they were at this time last quarter,” he said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that was confirmed by the company to CNN. “So as you would expect, there will be modest price movement in some categories, but it won’t be broad based.”

    Three months ago, when asked about the impact of tariffs on pricing, the company said it would not speculate on its price plans, but that tariffs might lead it to no longer offer some items.

    Home Depot said that a little less than half of its inventory comes from suppliers outside the United States. The company has previously said it was looking to diversify its supply base so that no foreign country supplied more than 10% of its goods.

    Despite sales in the quarter jumping 5% from last year, Home Depot’s net income slipped 0.2% over the same time period due to higher operating costs. The company believes its full-year earnings per share will fall 2% as economic uncertainty and high interest rates are keeping many consumers from moving forward with major home renovation plans.

    “Certainly some relief on mortgage rates in particular could help,” CEO Ted Decker said on the earnings call. Mortgage rates have spent most of the year stuck just under 7%.

    “When we talk to our customers… both consumers and pros, the number one reason for deferring the large project is general economic uncertainty. That is larger than prices of projects, of labor availability. By a wide margin, economic uncertainty is number one,” he added.

    But company executives said Home Depot is confident it will see those large projects appear at some point in the future, driving better results.

    “Our customers tell us the rate environment is giving them pause on larger remodeling projects,” McPhail said. “Our pros… say that their customers tell them they’re deferring projects. They’re not canceling projects. Home improvement demand persists. And so our job is to position ourselves to be ready for that.”

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  • Back to school season is here. See these tips to save money.

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    As students savor the last dregs of summer before heading back to school, many families are shopping for supplies earlier this year to get ahead of tariffs. 

    Over half of U.S. households that earn less than $50,000 a year say they plan to buy only essential school items, while 74% say they are shopping earlier than usual to avoid a potential hit from tariffs, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF), a trade organization that opposes higher import duties. 

    Many back-to-school essentials, from clothing and footwear to personal electronics, are imported. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that the U.S. tariff rate on such goods has jumped to an average of 18% this year, more than triple the 5% rate in 2024. 

    Families with children in kindergarten through 12th grade are projected to spend an average of $858 on clothing, shoes, school supplies and electronics this year, NRF found. That’s down slightly from $875 in 2024, as inflation has continued to ease this year, although up sharply from $697 in 2019, the group’s data shows. 

    Record high prices

    Recent data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis shows that the cost of school supplies and books is at a record high. A recent analysis from The Century Foundation also found that prices for a typical assortment of school supplies are up more than 7% in price this year, with goods such index cards and binders subject subject to even steeper price hikes. 

    School supplies cut across a range of goods categories, from dorm room décor, clothing and personal electronics to staples including writing implements, notebooks and backpacks. 

    “Consumers are being mindful of the potential impacts of tariffs and inflation on back-to-school items, and have turned to early shopping, discount stores and summer sales for savings on school essentials,” Katherine Cullen, NRF vice president of industry and consumer insights, said in a statement. 

    Although steep new U.S. tariffs haven’t delivered the kind of shock to the economy that some forecasters expected, many consumers are worried, shopping expert Trae Bodge told CBS News’ Kelly O’Grady. 

    “All of the studies that I’m seeing are showing that consumers are concerned,” Bodge said. “We are seeing prices ticking up because of tariffs, because of inflation. And so people are worried about being able to afford the things they need for school.”

    The Consumer Price Index — a closely watched inflation gauge — rose 2.7% in July on an annual basis, slightly cooler than economists had forecast.

    How to save

    Large retailers are rolling out deep discounts on some school supplies, with items like notebooks, folders, crayons and erasers selling for less than $1.

    For big-ticket items, experts urge consumers to compare prices. That includes cross-checking in-store prices against online deals. For example, a $269 Samsung Galaxy tablet at one retailer was available for $220 on its app. Most retailers also will match the best price on their own websites, Bodge noted. 

    When it comes to personal electronics, many of which are imported and now subject to President Trump’s wide-reaching tariffs, Bodge urges consumers to consider buying refurbished models. 

    “A lot of retailers offer refurbished items that also come with a warranty, and that’s a really good option if you’re looking to save,” she said. 

    When it comes to products like pencils and notebooks, buying a store-brand over a name-brand also often offers savings. For clothes, experts advise waiting until school starts — when kids ask for whatever is trendy, you’ll have a little money left over. 

    Another way to both manage your budget while imparting a lesson on spending is to give teens a gift card, Bodge said. “So they will be much more careful spending their money versus your money. And they’ll stay on budget by doing this,” she told CBS News. 

    Megan Cerullo

    Megan Cerullo is a New York-based reporter for CBS MoneyWatch covering small business, workplace, health care, consumer spending and personal finance topics. She regularly appears on CBS News 24/7 to discuss her reporting.

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  • Wayfair CFO says sellers on the company’s $12 billion marketplace are trying to ‘insulate’ customers from tariffs

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    The home goods category has seen its share of twists and turns over the past five years: a pandemic-era boom and then a slump when consumers pivoted toward travel and experiences rather than physical items. Now, it’s facing headwinds in the form of tariffs and an uncertain economy, and generative AI could be changing how people shop.

    Kate Gulliver, CFO and chief administrative officer at Wayfair, spoke with CFO Brew about her career, and about her company’s plan to roll with the punches.

    From startup to category leader: In some ways, Gulliver has grown along with Wayfair. After working in private equity, she joined the company as head of investor relations in 2014, and helped to run its IPO. At that time, it had about $1 billion in sales and 2,000 employees, Gulliver said. She describes it as “a super high-growth but relatively immature company from a systems and process perspective.” Today, Wayfair employs around 12,000 people and brought in $12 billion in revenue from June 2024 through June 2025.

    From investor relations, Gulliver became global head of talent, and was named CFO and CAO in 2022. Her career at Wayfair has evolved in an organic fashion.

    “I largely let my career be guided by the opportunity most immediately in front of me,” she said. “I’ve never tried to guide toward ‘10 years from now, here’s where that role is getting me.’ It’s been more ‘Is this the next right move?’”

    As a combined CFO and chief administrative officer, Gulliver has plenty on her plate: HR, finance, real estate, legal and compliance, corporate affairs, and communications all report to her. She enjoys the breadth of the dual role, which she says gives her insight into the “backbone” of the company. “Intellectually,” the many departments she oversees “can feel quite different day to day, which is fun,” she said.

    A turbulent five years for retail: As a seller of discretionary goods, Wayfair has been on a rocky ride over the past five years. It was able to capitalize on the home goods boom of the pandemic, when shoppers stuck in lockdown were buying items for their spaces. But as restrictions lifted and consumers pivoted toward spending on experiences, it saw net losses for three consecutive years. Wayfair had to restructure and underwent several rounds of layoffs, cutting around 13% of its workforce, or 1,650 jobs, in 2024.

    Now, though, the category is “starting to stabilize,” Gulliver said. Wayfair had a bumper second quarter this year, with revenues rising 5% year over year.

    “We’re feeling good about the momentum currently,” she said.

    Wayfair isn’t seeing consumer softness yet due to tariffs and economic uncertainty, Gulliver said, though it’s seeing more strength in its high-end lines, such as Perigold, AllModern, and Joss & Main, than in its “core mass” lines. (“There’s no question the higher-end market is stronger than mass,” CEO Niraj Shah said during a recent earnings call.) The company is keeping its eye on the macroeconomic picture, though. It’s doing a lot of forecasting, incorporating both its internal data and third-party inputs such as credit card data and housing market trends, Gulliver said.

    So far tariffs haven’t had that much of an impact, Gulliver said. That’s partly because Wayfair is a marketplace. Sellers post many unbranded items that look similar to one another, so they’re largely competing on price, she said. Lower prices also allow for better placement on Wayfair’s search results, boosting sales. Sellers, Gulliver said, are finding ways to absorb or offset tariffs at different points along the supply chain, which is “helping to insulate consumers” from higher prices. “Consumers are still seeing like-for-like pricing,” she said.

    AI, how about midcentury modern? Wayfair is also anticipating changes generative AI might make to shopping habits. It’s partnering with some major AI providers on developing agentic shopping tools, Gulliver said. And it’s added GenAI features to its website and app that show customers how furniture might look in different spaces within a home, alongside recommendations for similar Wayfair products. “It’s a fun way to capitalize on how consumers might be changing how they shop,” Gulliver said.

    At the same time, the retailer’s made a surprisingly analog move: opening brick-and-mortar stores. Its Chicago store has resulted in a “halo” effect, boosting sales and brand recognition in the Chicago area, Shah said on an earnings call. Three more physical stores are planned in the coming years.

    As a Wayfair shopper and home design fan herself (“That is the thing I read about in my spare time”), Gulliver understands what consumers are looking for. But even her broad remit, she acknowledges, only goes so far. “I’m always going to the brand team or the merchant team” and asking, ‘Have we thought about getting this product?’,” she said. “And they’re like, ‘Kate, stay in your lane.’”

    This report was originally published by CFO Brew.

    Introducing the 2025 Fortune Global 500, the definitive ranking of the biggest companies in the world. Explore this year’s list.

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    Courtney Vien, CFO Brew

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  • Trump promised ‘reciprocal’ tariffs. The numbers tell a different story.

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    For months on the campaign trail and after taking office, President Donald Trump promised that his tariff policies would be based on a simple principle: reciprocity.

    “Whatever they tax us, we will tax them,” Trump told a joint session of Congress in March, outlining plans for higher tariffs on imports from much of the world. When some of those tariff rates were unveiled in early April—before being paused, amended, altered, and in some cases finally imposed—the president reiterated that point. “They’re reciprocal—so whatever they charge us, we charge them,” Trump said.

    The White House has dropped that talking point in recent months. Even so, the executive order that invoked emergency powers to impose those tariffs still promises that they will be “reciprocal.” And in courts where the Trump administration is defending the president’s use of those expansive (and possibly unconstitutional) powers, the administration’s attorneys continue to refer to that set of tariffs as the “reciprocal” tariffs—to distinguish them from tariffs on Canada, China, and Mexico that were imposed in February for different reasons.

    So are the tariffs actually reciprocal? Not even close.

    Consider Switzerland. Last year, the average Swiss tariff on U.S. goods was a minuscule 0.2 percent, while the U.S. charged an average tariff of 1.4 percent on goods imported from Switzerland.

    To make trade with Switzerland “reciprocal,” then, Trump would have had to lower American tariffs on Swiss goods. In fact, he’d have to lower them even more, because in January the Swiss government abolished all of its tariffs on industrial goods from America—an arrangement that Swiss officials said would allow more than 99 percent of American items into the country duty-free.

    Trump responded to that by imposing a staggering 39 percent tariff on imports from Switzerland. This is reciprocity?

    The Swiss tariffs are where the Trump administration’s claim of reciprocity is most disconnected from reality, but it is hardly the only example.

    Singapore does not charge any tariffs on imports from the United States. Nevertheless, Trump’s 10 percent baseline tariff applies to anything that Americans want to purchase from individuals or businesses in Singapore. The average tariff charged by the European Union on American goods is a scant 1.7 percent, but imports from there will now face a 15 percent tariff here. Vietnam charges an average tariff of less than 3 percent on American goods, but Vietnamese goods will face a 20 percent tariff when coming into the U.S.—and that’s after Vietnam negotiated with Trump to lower what had been a 46 percent rate announced in April.

    In all, about 80 percent of the Trump administration’s supposedly “reciprocal” tariffs are higher than the tariffs charged by those countries on American goods, according to a new analysis from the Cato Institute.

    “This revelation is more than just a rhetorical gotcha: tariff advocates, including Trump himself, have long justified new US tariffs on the grounds that they were needed to balance foreign tariffs, which are supposedly quite high, on American goods,” write Scott Lincicome and Alfredo Carrillo Obregon, the co-authors of the Cato analysis. “Overall, the data further demonstrate that US tariffs today are about protectionism, with ‘fairness’ and other buzzwords simply a cover for achieving it.”

    There’s nothing fair about charging Americans higher taxes in an attempt to restrict global trade. And there’s nothing reciprocal about it at all.

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    Eric Boehm

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  • Inflation report spurs mixed narratives on US economy

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    Does the latest consumer price index report show that Americans are paying more or less for goods? You might be seeing mixed messaging based on the politicians you listen to or what your social media algorithms surface.

    Some say the numbers show President Donald Trump’s success. Others say the opposite. 

    Every month, the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the consumer price index, which measures price changes for goods and services including food, apparel, gasoline and housing. The report is used to assess economic stability and inform policy decisions.

    Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., celebrated the July report the day of its release.

    “Another month of inflation coming in lighter than expected. That’s GREAT NEWS for Florida families, and another reminder to trust in Pres. Trump!” Scott posted Aug. 12 on X, alongside a short Fox Business clip about energy and gas price decreases.

    U.S. Rep Kathy Castor, D-Fla., had a different take. 

    “Trump is raising your grocery bill to line the wallets of his billionaire friends. Nothing great about this for American families across the country,” Castor wrote in an Aug. 12 X post that included a link to a CBS News story that said in its headline that the index rose in July by 2.7% on an annual basis.

    Economists told PolitiFact this muddled framing isn’t new and people from different political tribes use varying metrics to reinforce their views. They said the full picture on the economy’s health and trajectory needs more time to come into focus.

    Overall, the report’s numbers are “another dose of modest bad news,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the center-right policy institute American Action Forum. “It’s not dramatic yet, it’s not a crisis, but it’s not positive.”

    Sign up for PolitiFact texts

    Trump’s tariffs, widely watched to see how they affect consumer prices and inflation, are still new and some just went into effect in August. 

    “Since at least 2021 the CPI reports have become a partisan battle ground with both sides cherry picking the data to best support their argument,” said Jason Furman, an economist and professor at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government who previously served as an economic adviser to former President Barack Obama. “And there is so much data in the CPI report that there is always some way to slice and dice it to support just about any view.”

    The consumer price index report and its meaning

    For July, the consumer price index increased 0.2% compared with the previous month and 2.7% from a year ago. That’s slightly cooler than the 2.8% rise economists had forecast, thanks to declines in gasoline and energy prices.

    Gary Burtless, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said the 2.7% 12-month rise in consumer prices for all items is a “bit lower than it was at the start of 2025,” to Trump’s advantage. But the number is also a bit higher than it was from March to July, he said, an advantage for Trump’s critics.  

    A separate measure, core inflation — which excludes food and energy because they are considered volatile measures prone to large, rapid fluctuations — increased 0.3% for July and 3.1% from a year ago. This is the first time annual core inflation, which officials use to monitor underlying, longer-term inflation trends, has risen above 3% in several months. This outpaces Federal Reserve projections before the 2024 election, which projected 2.2% median core inflation for 2025.

    “Economists tend to focus on the core because it is less erratic than food and energy prices,” said Dean Baker, co-founder of the liberal Center for Economic and Policy Research. “Food and energy prices are very important, but big changes in either direction tend to be reversed. Therefore it is often more useful if we are looking for future trends to look at the core index.”

    Despite the uptick, the report was mild enough for investors, as U.S. stocks closed near a record high Aug. 12. The stock market appears, for now, to be focusing on the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September given concerns about a cooling labor market. Central bank officials, to Trump’s disapproval, have held rates steady in 2025 as they wait to see tariffs’ effect on the economy.

    The July data comes amid a Bureau of Labor Statistics shakeup. After the agency’s downward revision of May and June employment data, Trump fired bureau Commissioner Erika McEntarfer, accusing her of political bias. Trump nominated E.J. Antoni, an economist at the conservative Heritage Foundation who has criticized the bureau, as the agency’s new commissioner.

    The long and winding road of Trump’s tariffs

    As the Trump administration highlights the collection of nearly $130 billion from the new tariffs so far, many economists expect that businesses will begin passing on the additional costs to U.S. customers.

    Goldman Sachs estimated in an analysis shared with Bloomberg that U.S. companies have so far absorbed the bulk of tariff costs — around two-thirds of the levies — while consumers absorbed around 22% of the costs through June.

    But Goldman Sachs said it expects the consumer share of the costs to soar to 67% by October if the tariffs follow previous patterns of how import levies affected prices.

    Trump wrote in an Aug. 12 Truth Social post that Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon should replace its economist. “It has been proven, that even at this late stage, Tariffs have not caused Inflation, or any other problems for America, other than massive amounts of CASH pouring into our Treasury’s coffers,” Trump wrote.

    Some U.S. companies have avoided passing along higher prices by stockpiling goods ahead of the tariffs’ implementation. Others have absorbed costs to avoid losing customers or are holding off in hopes that courts nix the tariffs.

    “That’s just businesses making business decisions,” said Holtz-Eakin, from the American Action Forum. “But there will be a point if the tariffs stay in place at the current levels where that just won’t be feasible anymore.”

    Many studies of past tariffs have found that they harm the economy and raise consumer prices.

    For now, however, experts agreed that the U.S. economy is in a wait-and-see moment.

    Burtless, from Brookings, believes that the effects of tariffs on consumer prices are modest so far, and that price increases across different categories of goods and services appear “inconsistent with the idea that tariffs are the main driver of overall inflation.”

    “That may turn out to be the case in the future,” he said, “but not yet.”

    Holtz-Eakin also warned about putting too much stock in a single report.

    “Never believe one month’s data,” he said. “That’s a rule of life if you’re doing policy work.”

    RELATED: New Trump tariffs could put even more downward pressure on economy because they’re less targeted 

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  • Strategic Reset: Health System’s Critical Window to Act During the 90-Day Tariff Truce – Black Book Research

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    Five immediate actions for healthcare leaders to stabilize supply chains, reinforce financial planning, and safeguard innovation before the next round of U.S. tariff policies takes effect.


    WASHINGTON, DC, April 9, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    In response to President Donald Trump’s April 9 announcement pausing most new U.S. import tariffs for 90 days, Black Book Research has issued targeted guidance for healthcare CFOs, procurement executives, and strategic sourcing leaders. With elevated tariffs still anticipated on pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare IT infrastructure, this temporary reprieve provides a critical window for organizations to recalibrate cost structures, supply chains, and forward-looking financial plans.

    “While the tariff relief provides short-term breathing room, the underlying trade tensions remain unresolved,” said Doug Brown, President of Black Book Research. “Healthcare leaders must use this time not to relax, but to retool.”

    Black Book’s Q2 findings-drawn from ongoing survey data across 212 health system CFOs, procurement executives, and supply chain directors-reveal five immediate, finance-driven action steps to help organizations mitigate exposure, optimize spending, and protect margin integrity in the event of renewed tariff escalation:

    1. Uncover the Cracks: Expose and Fortify Your Supply Chain Now

    The 90-day moratorium offers an urgent opportunity to identify and address hidden vulnerabilities in sourcing models. Organizations with high dependencies on global suppliers-particularly from China and India for APIs, medical components, and IT infrastructure-face serious cost risks if tariffs return. Now is the time to initiate supplier diversification, engage regional or domestic vendors, and build redundancy into mission-critical categories.

    68% of hospital supply chain leaders report they lack full visibility into Tier 2 and Tier 3 suppliers-many of which are located in tariff-sensitive regions. (Black Book Q2 2025)

    2. Sharpen the Numbers: Pressure-Test Your Financial Models

    CFOs should use this period to model multiple tariff scenarios and their downstream impact on capital planning, opex, and project timelines. Incorporating tariff contingencies into rolling forecasts enables organizations to plan defensively, reallocate budgetary priorities, and de-risk critical investments. Health systems are already renegotiating multi-year contracts and delaying non-essential technology upgrades as precautionary cost controls.

    72% of healthcare organizations with annual revenues over $500M have integrated tariff scenario planning into their financial models for 2025 and beyond. (Black Book Q2 2025)

    3. Stay on the Pulse: Track Policy-And Engage Proactively

    With policy developments unfolding rapidly, healthcare cannot afford passive observation. Strategic procurement and finance leaders should designate resources to track tariff and trade legislation, while also participating in industry advocacy efforts to request exemptions or influence implementation timelines. Remaining silent limits leverage; organizations with proactive policy engagement gain early insight and better positioning.

    Despite 87% of organizations acknowledging tariff risk, only 29% currently participate in any trade policy feedback or advocacy loop. (Black Book Q2 2025)

    4. Stock Smart: Rebuild Inventory Strategies with Flexibility

    Previous tariff rounds have already exposed weaknesses in lean inventory strategies. Now is the time to review stock thresholds and establish a smarter balance between just-in-time procurement and strategic inventory buffers for high-risk SKUs. Advanced forecasting tools, automated restocking logic, and supplier tiering can help protect against future volatility.

    41% of hospitals experienced critical supply shortages linked to earlier tariff disruptions, and 62% are now reevaluating inventory strategies as a result. (Black Book Q2 2025)

    5. Talk to Patients Before Tariffs Do

    As input costs rise, patients will inevitably feel the financial strain through higher co-pays, deductibles, or access limitations. Proactively preparing patient-facing teams to explain changes in billing, drug pricing, or device availability is essential to preserve trust and satisfaction. Finance leaders should also assess how changes in payer mix or utilization may impact reimbursement stability.

    84% of patients say transparent cost communication influences their loyalty, yet only 37% feel they currently receive clear financial guidance from providers. (Black Book Q2 2025)

    “This is a narrow but pivotal window for procurement and finance leaders to re-examine vendor dependencies, assess margin sensitivity, and take measurable steps to harden cost structures”, said Brown. “It’s also the time to reallocate capital toward more resilient supplier relationships, negotiate protective contract clauses, and secure domestic alternatives while cost conditions remain temporarily stable. The organizations that operationalize these steps today will be the ones that maintain financial control and service continuity tomorrow.”

    Contact Information

    Source: Black Book Research

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  • Tariffs Should Have Little Effect on AAA Distributor’s Home Improvement Product Inventory or Prices

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    The national distributor and retailer of cabinetry, doors and other home renovations products leverages its business model to ensure steady supplies and pricing for wholesalers, contractors and DIY homeowners.


    PHILADELPHIA, April 3, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    The Trump Administration announced tariffs on April 2 that are expected to increase the price of all imported goods by at least 10 percent, and by 20 to 34 percent on goods from China, Japan and Europe. However, Michael Neal, president of AAA Distributor, one of the nation’s largest home improvement outlets, said the tariffs will have little if any effect on the company’s prices or product availability.

    AAA Distributor, with massive distribution centers in the Philadelphia, Dallas, and Spokane, Washington areas, and with sales via multiple online channels, is a national distributor, wholesaler and retailer of flooring, kitchen and bath products.

    Neal, an industry veteran with two decades of experience as a regional director for Lowes and Home Depot, said AAA Distributor’s business model minimizes its exposure to the effects of tariffs, which are import taxes that usually are passed on to consumers.

    “We have millions of dollars of inventory in cabinets and doors in each of our locations,” Neal said. “We’ve already purchased to service the customers essentially through all of 2025. We already have the orders, and we already have them in the warehouse. We’ve positioned ourselves to weather any storm and then decide where to buy from.”

    Neal said AAA Distributor’s business model is diversified, marketing to wholesalers, contractors and individual homeowners, and it does the same with its suppliers.

    “We wanted to make sure that we were spread out, so we also did that with domestic versus international suppliers,” he said. “We can swing our business very quickly and still service all of those segments of our business and not impact the consumer’s bottom line.”

    AAA Distributors maintains business relationships with suppliers worldwide, which means it can avoid tariffs that target specific countries. AAA Distributors also purchases home improvement products from multiple domestic suppliers, including longtime partner Fabuwood, which manufactures cabinetry at facilities in New Jersey. “That means all I have to do is transition my business to one of my other manufacturers or to our manufacturers here in the United States,” he said.

    AAA Distributor sells cabinetry, doors and other supplies for kitchen, bath and general home renovation projects at its primary location in Philadelphia, The Ugly Duck Warehouse in Spokane, and Surplus Building Materials in Dallas, and at online channels including USADistributor.com, SBMTX.com and AllCabinets.com. Each outlet features AAA Distributor’s proprietary brand, Lesscare.com, as well as products from hundreds of other suppliers, to ensure the company meets the needs of its varied customers.

    “It’s about the customer experience and being able to cater to the customer in your line of business the way that customer has expectations, keeping in mind that that customer has never done a door or kitchen project before, so their experience will be based off their first experience with you,” Neal said.

    For more information, visit aaadistributor.com.

    About AAA Distributor

    AAA Distributor is a distributor, wholesaler, and retailer of kitchen, bathroom and flooring home improvement and remodeling products. Headquartered in Philadelphia, its large showroom (120,000 square feet) in Philadelphia offers samples, displays, and free 3D design services with the assistance of 12 full-time interior designers. AAA designs and imports its own proprietary product line, LessCare, which includes cabinetry, vanities, bath furnishings, plumbing supplies, flooring and fixtures. In addition to warehouse locations in Philadelphia, Surplus Building Materials in Dallas and The Ugly Duck Warehouse in Spokane, AAA Distributor has showrooms in the southeast and northeast U.S.

    Source: AAA Distributor

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  • Black Book Finds Tariff Pressures Driving Reshoring of U.S. Healthcare Manufacturing

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    Survey shows executives turning to automation, AI, and domestic production amid geopolitical and regulatory shifts


    TAMPA, Fla., April 2, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    A Q1 2025 ad hoc survey conducted by Black Book Research of 60 pharmaceutical and biotech manufacturing executives – half based in the U.S. and half operating offshore – reveals mounting momentum for reshoring U.S. healthcare manufacturing. The findings point to tariff-driven incentives, automation adoption, and supply chain vulnerabilities as central catalysts prompting a strategic shift in sourcing strategies across pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, and medical supplies.

    The data highlights the economic and regulatory realities of rebuilding domestic production capacity in a highly automated, post-pandemic landscape.

    Prompted by actual and anticipated tariffs, federal incentives, and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, U.S. industry leaders are accelerating efforts to reshore key manufacturing sectors, including pharmaceuticals, diagnostic instruments, biomedical equipment, and medical devices. A resounding 96% of U.S.-based executives and 94% of offshore respondents expect new or expanded U.S. facilities to operate on highly automated platforms, integrating robotics, artificial intelligence, and predictive analytics across production, logistics, and quality control functions.

    In 2024, approximately 350,000 jobs were announced in reshoring and foreign direct investment (FDI) initiatives, with medical and pharmaceutical manufacturing comprising 14% of that total. However, 90% of the surveyed healthcare industry executives anticipate that job creation from these efforts will be “limited” or “highly specialized,” due to increased reliance on automation and digital manufacturing.

    This reflects a broader trend, as robotics and AI adoption in U.S. healthcare manufacturing has surged 70% since 2020 according to respondents. “Reshoring doesn’t mean reversing automation – it means rethinking workforce needs,” said Doug Brown, Founder of Black Book Research. “We’re witnessing a pivot away from traditional factory-line labor toward highly skilled, compliance-driven roles in digital pharma, biotech, and medical supply manufacturing.”

    Regulatory complexity also emerged as a defining factor in reshoring strategy. All respondents expect significantly increased oversight for domestic facilities, with FDA, EPA, and OSHA standards creating a more rigorous compliance environment than many offshore locations. While 97% of U.S. executives cite regulatory complexity as one of their top three reshoring challenges, the majority acknowledged that this oversight results in higher product quality and public trust.

    All thirty U.S.-based executives surveyed anticipate increased production costs stemming from compliance burdens, smart factory infrastructure, and rising labor rates. Nevertheless, 67% of respondents support reshoring as a national strategic imperative.

    Black Book’s consumer sentiment analysis reinforces this stance: 98% of the 100 surveyed Americans favor reshoring critical industries to improve national security, reduce foreign dependency, and stimulate specialized employment.

    The urgency is further underscored by supply chain dependency data: the U.S. currently imports more than 80% of its active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) from China and India. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed major vulnerabilities, with most domestic manufacturers reporting severe disruptions and initiating reshoring evaluations in its aftermath.

    “For healthcare providers and systems, reshoring brings dual outcomes – greater product quality assurance and availability, but also higher procurement costs in the near term,” Brown said. “These shifts will ripple across payer-provider negotiations, government purchasing, and long-term public health budgets.”

    With U.S. healthcare spending projected to reach $6.8 trillion by 2030 – 10% of which will be pharmaceutical-related – the cost implications of domestic manufacturing are poised to become a critical issue in US healthcare economics.

    Reshoring is also part of a broader global trend. According to Black Book’s manufacturing insights, 80% of surveyed global manufacturers are currently evaluating reshoring or nearshoring strategies to strengthen operational resilience.

    About Black Book Research
    Black Book is an independent, unbiased, and vendor-agnostic healthcare research firm dedicated to improving patient care and provider staff experiences through data-driven insights. Founded by Doug Brown, author of the best-selling The Black Book of Outsourcing (Wiley & Sons), the firm was originally known for guiding global organizations through the pros and cons of offshore sourcing during the height of the outsourcing boom. Now, two decades later, Black Book applies its expertise to assess the evolving impact of automation, robotics, and AI-particularly as new U.S. tariffs and policy shifts fuel a renewed reshoring movement. The firm brings decades of experience tracking global sourcing, labor, and automation trends.

    Today, Black Book applies this expertise to critical issues shaping the future of healthcare manufacturing and technology policy.

    Source: Black Book Research

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  • Double-Digit Tariffs Disrupt U.S. Healthcare Costs and Supply Chain Stability, Industry Leaders Warn in Black Book Poll

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    New Black Book Research survey reveals industry-wide concerns as tariffs on imports from Mexico, Canada, and China threaten to escalate healthcare costs, disrupt supply chains, and create affordability challenges for patients.


    WASHINGTON, February 2, 2025 (Newswire.com)
    –
    A new survey conducted by Black Book Research has illuminated significant concerns among healthcare supply chain professionals, pharmaceutical executives, distributors, and medical equipment manufacturers about the financial and operational disruptions caused by recently imposed tariffs on imported goods from Mexico, Canada, and China.

    Leveraging Black Book’s advanced surveying technologies, the panel poll conducted over the past week gathered responses from 160 industry professionals spanning key stakeholder segments, including hospital finance and supply chain executives, payers, patients, health market customers, pharmaceutical and medical equipment manufacturers, and physicians and ancillary practice administrators. The survey aimed to assess the anticipated consequences of the 25% tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, along with the 10% tariff on goods from China. The findings underscore widespread apprehension about escalating costs for hospitals, physicians, payers, and patients.

    Survey Findings:

    1. How significantly will the tariffs increase the cost of medical equipment and pharmaceuticals?

    164 of the 200 survey respondents predict that costs for hospitals and health systems will surge by at least 15% in the next six months due to increased import expenses.

    69% estimate pharmaceutical costs will rise by at least 10% as a result of the China tariff on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

    2. What impact will the tariffs have on medical supply chain operations?

    90% of healthcare supply chain professionals responding foresee major disruptions in procurement processes and contract negotiations with suppliers due to increased costs and pricing volatility.

    81% of medical equipment manufacturers predict longer lead times and supply shortages stemming from increased production costs and import restrictions.

    3. How will hospitals and physicians manage the higher costs?

    90% of the twenty-one hospital finance executives surveyed report they will need to shift increased costs onto insurers and patients in the form of higher service charges.

    94% of healthcare administrators anticipate reducing procurement volumes or delaying equipment upgrades to mitigate financial strain.

    4. What effect will the tariffs have on payers and patient affordability?

    84% of payers expect to see higher claims costs due to increased pricing on medical treatments and drugs.

    48% of payer executives believe that insurance premiums will rise within the next 12 months as a direct consequence of increased supply chain expenses.

    5. Will alternative sourcing strategies mitigate tariff impacts?

    27% of respondents report that they are actively seeking domestic or alternative international suppliers to offset higher costs from Mexico, Canada, and China.

    However, 92% of pharmaceutical manufacturers caution that switching suppliers could result in regulatory delays and supply inconsistencies, particularly for critical medications.

    6. How will the tariffs impact healthcare IT vendors, software, and managed services?

    39% of healthcare IT executives foresee increased costs for software licensing, cloud computing, and managed services due to higher prices for imported technology components and IT infrastructure.

    91% of provider IT leaders anticipate delays in planned digital transformation projects as budgets shift to cover increased operational costs.

    16% of healthcare IT vendors predict that tariffs will increase the cost of essential hardware, including servers, networking equipment, and medical IT devices, impacting service delivery timelines and pricing for clients.

    Industry Response & Outlook

    “Healthcare providers, payers, and patients will all experience the financial ramifications of these tariffs,” said Doug Brown, Founder of Black Book. “As medical supply costs escalate, hospitals and insurers will be forced to make difficult financial decisions, inevitably passing increased expenses down to patients through higher out-of-pocket costs.” With the healthcare sector bracing for the full impact of these tariffs, Black Book Research remains committed to tracking and analyzing emerging supply chain trends, cost containment strategies, and industry-wide adaptations to mitigate risks and sustain affordability.

    About Black Book Research: Black Book Research is a premier source for unbiased, comprehensive market research and customer satisfaction surveys in the healthcare IT and services industries. Our independent methodologies provide real-time, actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making across the healthcare ecosystem. Black Book’s surveying technologies and industry outreach capabilities ensure timely, high-impact polling results, enabling healthcare organizations to respond effectively to market dynamics. Learn more at www.blackbookmarketresearch.com.

    Source: Black Book Research

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  • China Conquers Mexico’s Automotive Market, and the US Is Worried

    China Conquers Mexico’s Automotive Market, and the US Is Worried

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    This story originally appeared on WIRED en Español and has been translated from Spanish.

    China has positioned itself as the main car supplier in Mexico, with exports reaching $4.6 billion in 2023, according to data from Mexico’s Secretariat of Economy.

    The Chinese automaker BYD surpassed Honda and Nissan to position itself as the seventh largest automaker in the world by number of units sold during the April to June quarter. This growth was driven by increased demand for its affordable electric vehicles, according to data from automakers and research firm MarkLines.

    The company’s new vehicle sales rose 40 percent year over year to 980,000 units in the quarter—the same quarter wherein most major automakers, including Toyota and Volkswagen, experienced a decline in sales. Much of BYD’s growth is attributed to its overseas sales, which nearly tripled in the past year to 105,000 units. Now BYD is considering locating its new auto plant in three Mexican states: Durango, Jalisco, and Nuevo Leon.

    Foreign investment would be an economic boost for Mexico. The company has claimed that a plant there would create about 10,000 jobs. A Tesla competitor, BYD markets its Dolphin Mini model in Mexico for about 398,800 pesos—about $21,300 dollars—a little more than half the price of the cheapest Tesla model.

    Prevented from selling their wares to the United States due to tariffs, Chinese EV manufacturers have explored other markets to sell their high-tech cars. However, as Mexico establishes itself as a key market for Chinese electric vehicles, officials in Washington fear that Mexico could be used as a “back door” to access the US market.

    That tariff-free access is part of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (T-MEC), an updated version of the North American Free Trade Agreement that, as of 2018, eliminated tariffs on many products traded between the North American countries. Under the treaty, if a foreign automotive company that manufactures vehicles in Canada or Mexico can demonstrate that the materials used are locally sourced, its products can be exported to the United States virtually duty-free.

    According to official figures, 20 percent of light vehicles sold last year in Mexico were imported from China, representing 273,592 units and a 50 percent increase compared to 2022. Currently, most of the vehicles imported from China come from Western brands that have established manufacturing plants in that country, such as General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, BMW, and Renault.

    Mexico is the second largest market for Chinese automobiles worldwide, behind only Russia, according to data from Linked Global Solutions, a company specializing in business between China and Latin American countries.

    A Trade War Against China

    Both the United States and the European Union have intensified a trade war against China, focusing on automobiles and semiconductor chip production, which have been the subject of investigations for predatory practices, tariffs, and restrictions. This new geopolitical strategy is prompting Western companies to look for alternatives to relocate their factories outside of China, a trend known as “nearshoring.”

    Concerned about the potential impact on domestic automakers, the US has raised tariffs on Chinese-made electric vehicles to 100 percent. Canada is also considering implementing its own tariffs on Chinese-made vehicles.

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    Anna Lagos

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  • US House bill would require national security reviews on connected vehicles from China

    US House bill would require national security reviews on connected vehicles from China

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    Newly proposed Congressional legislation would require the US to conduct security reviews for connected vehicles built by automakers from China and “other countries of concern.” Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official who has championed the issue, introduced the bill on Wednesday.

    If passed by Congress (a tall order these days), the Connected Vehicle National Security Review Act would establish a formal review process for connected autos from Chinese companies. It would also allow the Department of Commerce to limit or ban these cars and other vehicles before they reach US consumers.

    “Today’s vehicles are more sophisticated than ever, carrying cameras, radars and other sophisticated sensors, plus the ability to process, transmit and store the data they gather from the United States,” said Slotkin. “If allowed into our markets, Chinese connected vehicles offer the Chinese government a treasure trove of valuable intelligence on the United States, including the potential to collect information on our military bases, critical infrastructure like the power grid and traffic systems, and even locate specific U.S leaders should they so choose.”

    Campaign photo for US Representative Elissa Slotkin. She stands in a factory, wearing goggles, talking with several workers.

    Rep. Elissa Slotkin

    In a speech on the House floor earlier this month, Slotkin noted that Chinese EVs, often sold much cheaper than their US and European counterparts, could quickly gain a significant share of the American market. She cited how Chinese vehicles, first sold in Europe in 2019, now make up almost a quarter of its market. The representative also recently pushed Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on the security gap.

    Alternatively (and perhaps ideally), legislators could pass a comprehensive data privacy law rather than dealing with these issues piecemeal.

    The bill’s introduction follows the Biden Administration’s quadrupling of import tariffs on Chinese EVs. The White House’s new EV levies grew from 25 percent to 100 percent, following China’s EV exports rising 70 percent between 2022 and 2023.

    In February, the White House also ordered the Department of Commerce to investigate the risks of connected vehicles from China and other adversaries. However, that action was conducted through an executive order and could be undone by future administrations. Slotkin’s legislation would close those loopholes if it makes it through Congress — rarely a safe bet in today’s highly obstructed and contentious political environment.

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    Will Shanklin

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