Americans are rightfully wondering how a slew of tariffs from President Donald Trump’s administration will personally affect their pocketbooks.
I say “rightfully” in part because the tariff landscape changes literally by the day. Twenty-five percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada were already paused for a month. More recently, a carve-out was made for vehicles and auto parts imports, then Mexico was paused again, then USMCA-compliant goods were exempted … and you can see how that might confuse your average reader.
But I also say it in part because no one is quite sure how much of each of Trump’s tariffs, regardless of whether it’s 10%, 20%, or 25%, will end up being passed through to consumers. But we can get at least a little clarity by listening to the retailers and other businesses that have already sounded off on these new import taxes.
Read on as I highlight public statements made by several massive American businesses about their plans for handling tariffs on Chinese, Mexican, Canadian, and other imports.
Are Businesses Going to Pass Tariff Costs on to Consumers?
In a word: Yes.
Ernst & Young recently surveyed more than 4,000 executives about whether they would pass increased input costs from tariffs or other policy measures to customers. The results:
- 100% said they would pass along at least some portion to consumers.
- 87.7% said they would pass along at least one-third.
- 72% said they would pass along at least one-half.
- 46.2% said they would pass along at least two-thirds.
- 30.8% said they would pass along at least 90%.
However, at least a few executives must have been missed in EY’s survey, as least a couple of corporate heads have said they’d hold the line on costs.
“It is our intent as we sit here today to absorb those costs,” Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) CEO Scott Boatwright recently told NBC Nightly News, adding that “we don’t know if the tariffs are transitory, if they’re going to be permanent, how sticky they’ll be in the new administration.”
However, the chief of the burrito-slinger, which gets roughly half of its avocados from Mexico, admitted that if input costs become a “significant headwind,” it might eventually have to change its prices.
Other companies might not need to pass any costs along. Coca-Cola (KO) CEO James Quincey, for instance, signaled that the company could pivot if necessary amid a 25% tariff being levied on all aluminum imports.
“If aluminum cans become more expensive, we can put more emphasis on (plastic) bottles,” Quincey said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call in February.
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Companies That Have Sounded Off on Their Tariff Plans
However, while prices for barbacoa and Coca-Cola might remain level, consumers should expect that to be the exception, not the norm.
A number of companies have already communicated their intentions of passing along at least some of the increased costs of tariffs on to their consumers. Here, we look at some of the most noteworthy businesses and brands.
1. Best Buy
The United States brings in electronics from a number of countries, but China is consistently our biggest partner, representing roughly a third of all imported electronics.
So, don’t be surprised if you’re staring at larger sticker prices on your next Best Buy (BBY) trip.
The electronics retailer said during its third-quarter 2024 earnings conference call in November 2024 that 60% of their cost of goods sold came from China, which accounts for Best Buy’s highest number of imports. No. 2? Mexico.
“There’s very little in the consumer electronics space that is not imported,” CEO Corie Barry told analysts during the call. “Typically, in history, this ends up being some kind of costs that are shared … we see that the customer ends up bearing some of the cost of tariffs.”
Barry’s stance was unchanged as of early March.
“While Best Buy only directly imports 2% to 3% of our overall assortment, we expect our vendors across our entire assortment will pass along some level of tariff costs to retailers, making price increases for American consumers highly likely,” she said during the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call.
“Of course, we prefer not to raise prices, but because of the higher [costs of goods sold], we need to enact some price increases and that is going to vary based on product categories,” Best Buy CFO Matt Bilunas added.
Related: How Do the New Trump Tariffs Work?
2. Ford
Few areas of the market face significant damage from tariffs than the auto industry, whose supply chains run long and deep into both Canada and Mexico.
Indeed, the auto industry has spent months communicating the severity of the situation to Washington, and as a result, the U.S. recently granted a one-month reprieve on the start of tariffs on vehicles and auto parts.
Should those tariffs come to pass, however, it won’t just be foreign automakers that take a hit—Detroit’s “Big Three” could suffer, too.
“There’s no question that tariffs at the 25 percent level with Canada and Mexico, if they’re protracted, would have a huge impact on our industry, with billions of dollars of industry profit wiped out, and adverse effects on U.S. jobs as well as the entire value system in our industry,” Ford (F) CEO Jim Farley said during his company’s Q4 2024 earnings call this February. “Tariffs would also mean higher prices for customers.”
How much higher? A Motortrend report says car prices broadly could increase by between $4,000 and $10,000, according to estimates from Anderson Consulting.
Related: 8 Ways Higher Tariffs May Lead to Higher Costs for Americans
3. AutoZone
At the risk of stating the extremely obvious, cars aren’t one solid block of material—they’re made up of many, many components.
Similarly, it’s not just vehicles themselves that would be subject to tariffs. Auto parts are in the crosshairs too, whether that’s the parts that go on during assembly, or replacement parts you pick up at your local AutoZone (AZO).
“If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer,” AutoZone CEO Philip Daniele said during the company’s fiscal fourth-quarter 2024 earnings call in September. “We generally raise prices ahead of that.”
So while you might not be in the market for a new car soon, you could still pay more in the form of car maintenance tasks or part replacements. Though again, that’s only if the most recent reprieve on auto-related tariffs remains temporary.
Related: 10 Common Financial Mistakes That New Retirees Make
4. Target
Retail giant Target (TGT) sells a variety of products, from clothing and electronics to food and toiletries—and as a result, many of its wares will be subject to tariffs. For instance, much of the chain’s fruits and vegetables are imported from Mexico, especially during the winter months.
“Those are categories where we’ll try to protect pricing, but the consumer will likely see price increases over the next couple of days,” he told CNBC in March shortly after Target released its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings. “If there’s a 25% tariff, those prices will go up.”
Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez added that Target might shift prices on some goods to maintain specific prices on others.
“I’ll give you an example,” he said. “We have $3 Christmas ornaments. We don’t want to have $3.60 Christmas ornaments. We want to keep them at $3. That means we have to think about margin elsewhere. So maybe we’ll take pricing up a little bit on stockings to cover where we are in Christmas ornaments.”
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5. Walmart
Walmart (WMT), the world’s largest retailer and Target’s biggest competitor, certainly won’t be immune from tariffs—and its shoppers won’t be, either.
In November 2024, Walmart CFO John David Rainey told CNBC that “there probably will be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”
More recently, in a statement to Fox Business, a Walmart spokesman said “concerned that significantly increased tariffs could lead to increased costs for our customers at a time when they are still feeling the remnants of inflation.”
That said, Walmart isn’t exactly taking the tariffs sitting down. Bloomberg recently reported that Walmart has been asking its Chinese suppliers to cut costs, though anonymous sources familiar with the matter say few suppliers have acquiesced.
Related: Avoid a Terrible Tax Preparer: Insider Tips to Find a Great Pro
6. Columbia Sportswear
Apparel companies are no stranger to tariffs—many pay import taxes in the double digits as is. And Columbia Sportswear (COLM), an apparel company that focuses on outerwear, footwear, sportswear, and athletic equipment, is no different. Some of its products were already subject to import taxes of up to 37.5% without factoring in any of the new tariffs on Canadian, Mexican, and Chinese imports.
“It’s going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable for Americans,” CEO Tim Boyle told The Washington Post in October 2024, adding that Columbia was “set to raise prices.”
In February, he told CNBC that his company will have to be “incredibly cautious” given how fluid tariff policies could be. He also said moving tariff targets made it more difficult to plan.
“We need some surety about what is going to happen, what’s the future,” Boyle said.
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7. Dollar Tree
Dollar Tree (DLTR), which also owns Family Dollar stores, serves frugal shoppers looking to buy essential products. Thus, food and personal care items tend to be among the chain’s top selling categories.
As Dollar Tree’s name implies, products are generally priced low to appeal to customers. Unsurprisingly, the retailer relies heavily on China to be able to deliver low-priced goods.
And during the company’s third-quarter earnings call in December, the chain made it clear that tariffs would very much impact its shoppers—though not necessarily in the form of higher costs.
“We believe there is a wide range of potential actions that we can take to help mitigate additional tariffs if and when they materialize,” said CEO Michael Creedon, who at the time was serving on an interim basis. Among the stated options were changing product sizes (aka shrinkflation) and even removing some products altogether.
