""Few in industry are speaking out loud about [this], for fear of retaliation, which is a form of cowardice," Cohen, who directs the retail studies program at Columbia Business School, told Fortune. "They are frantically trying to figure this out," he said, describing retailers and manufacturers calling him panicking under the pressure to rewrite forecasts, protect margins and renegotiate with suppliers."
"So far, retailers have been buoyed by their efforts in the spring and summer to stockpile and reduce the quality of some of their goods, allowing them to keep prices low. That's why the back-to-school season was good for sellers, he said."The party is over now," Cohen said. "The goods you see on a shelf in advance of this holiday season will have been fully burdened by tariffs.""
"Cohen argued tariffs have become a hidden time-bomb lodged inside the U.S. economy, delayed in its impact by Trump's deal-making and wishy-washiness on some of his Liberation Day tariffs.Unlike traditional taxes, which are paid at point of sale, tariffs hit long before a product ever reaches a shelf. "Almost everything we consume... is being burdened with these taxes, with these tariffs that he's created," he said. "What Trump has done is created a burden on every element in the supply chain.""
Corporate America is terrified of an escalating trade war and its tariffs. CEOs of big-box retailers generally avoid speaking out for fear of retaliation. Retailers and manufacturers are rewriting forecasts, protecting margins and renegotiating with suppliers. Spring and summer stockpiling and quality reductions delayed price increases and helped back-to-school sales. Holiday-season goods will be fully burdened by tariffs, causing price hikes. Large chains can better absorb costs and keep prices low, while small-to-medium manufacturers and retailers face potentially catastrophic impacts. Tariffs act as hidden time-bombs that hit supply chains before point of sale.
Read at Fortune
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]