These Companies And Brands Are Increasing Prices Because Of Trump’s Tariffs

Some major brands plan to ride out President Donald Trump’s tariff war while others say they have no choice but to raise prices to reflect the added cost of doing business.

A new Allianz Trade Global Survey released Wednesday found that 54 percent of U.S. companies and 45 percent of companies in China plan to increase prices due to the uncertainty of the trade war. Globally, about 38 percent of companies say they’ll hike prices.

Higher reciprocal and retaliatory tariffs are on a 90-day pause, but a 10 percent baseline remains in effect on most imports. The exception is China, where a 30 percent import tax is in effect. What happens after the pause expires looms large in companies’ plans, the poll’s researchers wrote.

Some prices in U.S. retail stores have already or will increase soon. Below, see how some brands are responding to the trade war.

Home Depot And Lowe’s

Among retailers staying the course is Home Depot, which imports about half of what it sells. Chief Financial Officer Richard McPhail said in an interview with CNBC that the company has worked to diversify its import partners over the past several years and had reduced its reliance on China. Within a year, Home Depot will limit its out-of-country purchases to no more than 10 percent from a single nation, McPhail said.

“Because of our scale, the great partnerships we have with our suppliers and productivity that we continue to drive in our business, we intend to generally maintain our current pricing levels across our portfolio,” he said.

Although the Lowe’s home improvement chain’s first-quarter sales lagged some, President and CEO Marvin Ellison said during the company’s earnings call Wednesday that Lowe’s expects to continue to be competitive on prices.

Approximately 60 percent of Lowe’s purchases originate in the United States and about 20 percent of its purchase volume is currently concentrated in China.

“Although we're pleased with this reduced dependency, we're not satisfied and we're working to accelerate our diversification efforts,” he said of the company's product sourcing.

Target And Walmart

Uncertainty over tariffs is part of a broader set of problems at Target, which has faced consumer backlash for its rollback of key diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and has struggled with merchandising.

In a call with reporters Wednesday, Target CEO Brian Cornell said the company is scaling back its 2025 sales outlook after first-quarter sales fell nearly 3 percent from a year ago. Cornell described the difficulty level around tariffs as “incredibly high,” given the uncertainty of how the trade war could evolve, but said raising prices “is the very last resort.”

About two-thirds of what Walmart sells is either made, grown or assembled in the United States, lessening the impact of the tariff war on the Arkansas-based retail giant. But even with higher duties temporarily paused, the 30 percent tariff on merchandise imported from China is“still too high,” David Rainey, the chief financial officer of the Arkansas-based company, told CNBC.

“We’re wired for everyday low prices, but the magnitude of these increases is more than any retailer can absorb,” Rainey said. “It’s more than any supplier can absorb. And so I’m concerned that consumer is going to start seeing higher prices. You’ll begin to see that, likely towards the tail end of this month, and then certainly much more in June.”

Walmart CEO Doug McMillan said in a May 15 earnings call that while tariffs on trading partners in Columbia, Peru and Costa Rica are putting pressure on the cost of bananas, avocados and coffee.

Other items likely to go up in price include electronics, toys, strollers and other baby gear imported from China

Trump responded to Walmart’s warning of price increases by telling the retail giant to “eat the tariffs.”

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“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain. Walmart made BILLIONS OF DOLLARS last year, far more than expected,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

Shein And Temu

Low-value shipments of online purchases have been coming into the U.S. duty-free for several years under the de minimis rule, which exempted them from the import tax. Popular shopping sites such as Shein and Temu that offer ultra-low prices took advantage of the duty-free rule by shipping directly from China to U.S. buyers, bypassing more cumbersome customs paperwork.

After reaching agreement with Beijing to temporarily pause the trade war, the White House said in an executive order that the tariff on low-value parcels from China would be reduced to 54 percent, down from 120 percent.

John Lash, group vice president of product strategy at the supply chain platform e2open, told The Associated Press that he expected the volume of low-value packages would now rise but not back to previous levels.

Shortly before the exemption ended on May 2, prices on many items sold by Shein rose, some by as much as 300 percent, Patch previously reported.

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Temu reportedly halted shipments from China and tapped inventory it had been building up in U.S. warehouses, Business Insider reported. Shein also had built up its warehouse inventory in the U.S.

The solutions are temporary, though, because the warehouse stock will eventually have to be replenished. Companies like Shein and Temu could also shift their focus to European markets, or ship to the United States from countries other than China.

Nike, Adidas And Puma

Beaverton, Oregon-based Nike plans to increase prices on its apparel and equipment between $2 and $20, CNBC reported. The sportswear giant did not specifically mention the higher duties, but the majority of its products are made in countries in Asia targeted by Trump’s tariffs.

The increases will cause footwear that usually costs between $100 and $150 to jump by $5, and items over $150 to go up by about $10. Price increases may be seen as early as this week.

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However, prices on children’s apparel and items under $100 won’t go up, Nike said. Neither will its Air Force 1 shoe and Jordan apparel and accessories.

In a call with investors in March, Nike finance chief Matt Friend said the company was “navigating through several external factors that create uncertainty in the current operating environment” and that the company was monitoring “the impact of this uncertainty and other macro factors on consumer confidence.”

German sportswear brands Adidas and Puma are expected to follow Nike’s lead, Robert Krankowski, a sporting goods analyst at UBS, told Reuters.

“That was the moment Adidas and Puma were waiting for,” he said, adding “this is not Nike-specific, it is an industry issue. Everyone will be impacted by the tariffs.”

Dozens of athletic wear companies have co-signed a letter from Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America pushing tariff exemptions, including Brooks, Under Armour and Sketchers. They said the tariffs represent an “existential threat” to the footwear industry.

About 98 percent of the shoes purchased in the United States are imported from other countries, with China manufacturing about 75 percent of them, according to the American Apparel and Footwear Association.

In their April 29 letter — before the 90-day pause — the footwear distributors and retailers said the additional duties hit shoe retailers especially hard “because the U.S. government already places a significant tariff burden on our industry before any new tariffs are added.”

“For example, children’s shoes often have rates of 20 percent, 37.5 percent, and higher, before accounting for the reciprocal tariffs,” they wrote. “In addition, some of the highest rates in the tariff code are placed on low-value shoes purchased by hardworking American families.

“The new reciprocal rates are stacked on top of the existing high footwear tariff rates, meaning that many American footwear companies will now have to pay a tariff ranging from more than 150 percent to nearly 220 percent. Many companies making affordable footwear for hardworking lower and middle-income families cannot absorb tariff rates this high, nor can they pass along these costs. Without immediate relief from the reciprocal tariffs they will simply shutter.”

Stanley Black & Decker

Stanley Black & Decker said in its recent earnings report that it had raised prices on its tools and outdoor products in Aril and plans another increase later this year. The company said it is accelerating efforts to adjust its supply chain while at the same time closely monitoring shifting trade policies so it can be agile in its response.

Procter & Gamble

Price increases are likely on some products manufactured by Procter & Gamble, whose brands include Charmin toilet paper, Bounty paper towels and Tide detergent, CNBC reported.

Although P&G makes many of its products domestically, but the tariffs are likely to raise some costs, CEO Jon Moeller said recently on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.”

“There will likely be pricing — tariffs are inherently inflationary — but we’re also looking at sourcing options,” Moeller said, adding the price increases won’t start showing up until the company’s new fiscal year, which starts in July — the same month the 90-day pause expires.

‘Baby Tax’ Effect

The tariffs amount to a “baby tax” on some baby essentials. CNN reported that 99 percent of car safety seats and 98 percent of strollers are imported from China.

UPPABaby said in a statement on its website that price increases were “unavoidable.”

“We took on much of the early impact ourselves, shouldering tariff-related costs to delay price changes and minimize disruption for our customers, choosing to manage the initial financial impact internally rather than raising prices multiple times,” the company said. “Still, we know this isn’t easy news, especially at a time when every dollar counts.”

At the retail level, that meant an UPPABaby stroller originally priced at $899 sold for $1,200, Axios reported.

The baby products company Munchkin is also raising prices because of the higher duties on imported goods, especially those imported from China.

Tariffs are increasing prices on many things new parents need, including cribs and bassinets, European-made formula, nursery furniture, baby clothes, toys, high chairs, diaper pails, swings, monitors, bouncers, play gyms and activity centers, and diaper bags, according to the e-commerce site Babylist.

“It is a tax on families that are having a baby,” Natalie Gordon, the founder and CEO of Babylist, told The Washington Post. “Tariffing these products is completely at odds with that stated goal of increasing birth rate and supporting families.”

Mattel, Hasbro And Basic Fun!

El Segundo, California-based toy maker Mattel and Pawtucket, Rhode Island-based Hasbro have both said they’ll have to increase prices because of the tariffs.

Mattel CEO Ynon Kreiz told CNBC the issue isn’t as simple as moving manufacturing to the United States, Trump’s goal in his tariff policy.

“We need to remember that a significant part of toy creation happens in America,” Kreiz said. “Design, development, product engineering, brand management all happens in America. Making product, producing product in other countries, allows us to create quality products at affordable price points.”

The manufacturer of Barbie, Hot Wheels and Uno expects an additional $270 million in tariff expenses, largely due the higher duties on Chinese-made goods. The higher costs are expected to be reflected at Christmastime.

Despite reporting strong first-quarter earnings, Hasbro warned tariffs could cause concern through 2025 due to the “imposition, threat or uncertainty of tariffs, including reciprocal or retaliatory tariffs” that could spark price increases. Some of the company’s signature toys are Transformers action figures, Nerf and Monopoly.

In a conference call, chief executive Chris Cocks said “targeted pricing actions remain likely,” Newsweek reported.

Basic Fun!, the brand behind Care Bears, Tonka Trucks and Lincoln Logs, has paused certain shipments from China and has warned customers to be prepared for empty store shelves.

“Consumers will find Basic Fun! toys in stores for a month or two but very quickly we will be out of stock and stock product will disappear from store shelves,” CEO Jay Foreman said in early May, according to The Associated Press.

About 80 percent of toys sold in the United States are manufactured in China. Depending on how the tariff war is finally resolved, toys could be twice as expensive as last year, Foreman said.

The Associated Press contributed reporting.

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