Some companies are preparing to raise prices for President Donald Trump’s tariffs.Brandon Bell/Getty, Taylor Le/bi
Trump's tariffs have led some companies to announce their plans to raise prices.
Even before what he called “liberation day,” the company warned them to transfer fees to shoppers.
BI tracks companies that have raised prices due to tariffs.
Prices are expected to rise this year as many companies say they plan to raise prices in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Although the company raised prices for a number of reasons, some blamed tariffs long before the so-called “liberation day” on April 2, during which he announced imports to most countries, as well as imports from most countries outside Canada and Mexico, as well as many “reciprocal” tariffs.
The situation is smooth. For example, China now faces a 30% tariff after reaching a trade agreement with the United States that has not resumed its minimum exemption, a 145% reduction from the 145% tariff. Automobile is another area of focus after Trump announced a 25% tariff on imports of all cars to the U.S., although he has exempted imports of cars and auto parts from Mexico and Canada.
“April 2, 2025, the day when the U.S. industry is reborn, the day of the fate of the U.S., and the day when we start to make the U.S. rich again, will be remembered forever.”
Some economists say Trump’s tariffs and uncertainty in his overall trade policy could lead companies to raise prices for goods they produce. Many companies have said a price increase is coming.
By the end of 2024, some companies began to warn that they would consider raising prices for consumers if Trump imposes extensive tariff recommendations. While they still have the potential to absorb certain fees from tariffs, here are the companies that have seen prices rise in recent months.
Two Chinese retailers issued nearly the same notice on April 16, both reading: “Our operating expenses have increased due to the latest changes in global trade rules and tariffs.”
“In order to continue to provide products you like without damaging the quality, we will make a price adjustment starting April 25, 2025,” Shein's statement said.
Shein is a fast-fashion retailer, Temu is Temu in all markets from household goods to electronics, and they guarantee US customers a low price for eight days.
In addition to imposing tariffs on Chinese imports of hikes, Trump has also cracked down on De Minimis Trade Vulnerability This makes small packages less than $800 worth of tax exemption for entry into the United States. Shein and Temu are the big beneficiaries of the vulnerability.
Bloomberg reports that the automaker plans to increase prices for new gas and electric vehicles starting in May unless Trump makes the industry lighten tariffs.
In a memo to dealers seen by Bloomberg, Ford said the company expects “to make a vehicle pricing adjustment in the future, which is expected to happen with production in May.” The prices of vehicles in stock will not change now.
On April 14, Trump told reporters that he was considering providing temporary tariffs for cars to give manufacturers more time to transfer production to the United States – but has not yet avoided blankets.
Sean Connolly, CEO of Conagra Brands, told Reuters on April 3 that food companies may have to hike prices to offset tariff costs on ingredients such as cocoa, olive oil, palm oil, and steel for canned products.
Connolly said Conagra, which produces Hunt’s tomato sauce and chef Boyardee, imported canned tin plate steel cans from Mexico.
He added that it is too early to say how expensive the company’s food is. During the April 3 earnings call, he stressed that trade conditions remained “fluctuating” and would change every hour.
Volkswagen said it would impose import fees on vehicles outside the U.S. to deal with Trump's 25% tariff on auto imports, according to a memo first reported by Auto News.
Volkswagen North America CEO Kjell Gruner recently said the automaker will keep prices stable by the end of May, but they may increase in June.
Best Buy CEO Corie Barry said Trump's tariff plan could raise prices during the company's March earnings call.
“Trade is crucial to our businesses and industries. The consumer electronics supply chain is highly global, technological and complex,” Barry said. “We expect that suppliers across the entire category will be likely to go up prices for retailers through a certain level of tariff charges, making prices for U.S. consumers.”
Target CEO Brian Cornell told CNBC in a March interview that Trump's 25% tariff plan on Mexican and Canadian goods could lead to product prices rising.
“We'll try to protect pricing in these categories, but consumers may see prices rising in the next few days,” Cornell said.
“Our approach to any tariff situation is to offset the impact with a mix of supply chain and pricing measures, which could reduce the formalization of tariffs by two months,” Donald Allan, CEO of manufacturing company Stanley Black & Decker, said on a February earnings call.
Allen had previously told analysts in an October tax call that the company had been evaluating “various programs” to plan new tariffs under Trump.
“Obviously, coming out of the gate, the price increase is related to the tariffs we put into the market,” Allen said, adding: “There is often some kind of delay given the process of implementing prices by customers.”
On May 15, Walmart executives said the price increase could be higher, blamed on Trump's ongoing trade war.
“Even at lower levels, higher tariffs will lead to higher prices,” CEO Doug McMillon said on the company's first-quarter earnings call.
Walmart's chief financial officer John David Rainey said that despite strong results, shoppers who still hope to beat tariff-related price increases have boosted U.S. sales, but despite the huge results, the extra costs are too big, and the company's extra costs are too big without having to transfer part of the burden to consumers.
“We are low prices every day, but these increases are more than any retailer can absorb,” he said.
Tim Boyle, CEO of Colombia Sportswear, told analysts in an October report call that the company was “very worried about the tariffs.” He said that while he believes Colombia is good at managing tariffs, “a trade war is not a good thing and is not easy to win.”
Boyle also told the Washington Post in October that the company “will “raise prices.”
“It will be very, very difficult to make products affordable to Americans,” he said later in a February interview with CNBC that “we need assurances about what is going to happen” before changing the price.
Philip Daniele, CEO of AutoParts Company Autozone, told analysts on a earnings call in September that tariff policies “dig and flowed over the years” and that if Trump imposes more tariffs, we will restore the fees of those tariffs to consumers. ”
“We usually raise prices,” Daniel said, adding that prices gradually stabilize over time. “So, historically, that's what we do,” he said.
The 25% tariff on auto imports is expected to increase from $4,000 to $12,000.
P&G, the consumer goods company behind brands such as Tide and Charmin, is considering increasing prices for new and existing products.
CEO Jon Moeller told CNBC that price increases are “possible”.
“We will have to pull all the leverage we have in the arsenal to mitigate the impact of tariffs under our cost structure and profit or loss,” Andre Schulten, CFO of Bao&G, said in a call with reporters.
Schulten added that the company is evaluating “the exact combination of brands, markets, pricing, and the right plan at what time,” said the company.
Italian luxury car maker Ferrari said that starting April 2, some models imported into the United States have increased their prices by up to 10%.
The company said the change was “based on preliminary information currently available on import tariffs on EU cars to the United States”.
Eric du Halgouët, the company's executive vice president of finance, told analysts in an April call that the luxury retailer is known for its iconic Birkin handbags and has not been affected by tariffs, but the company said the company will raise prices in the U.S. in May.
“The price increase we are going to implement only applies to the United States. Since its purpose is to offset the tariff increase, this applies only to the U.S. market,” DuHalgouët said on the phone.
Nintendo's highly anticipated Switch 2 console won't see price increases on tariffs, but Nintendo said the Switch 2 accessories “will experience price adjustments announced on April 2, due to changes in market conditions.”
“Other adjustments to the price of any Nintendo product can also be made, depending on market conditions,” the company added in the announcement.
The company also delayed Switch 2 reservations after the tariffs.
How does the price affect you? Extend your hand cboudreau@businessinsider.com.
