One year after significant U.S. tariffs reshaped global trade, the reshoring boom that was supposed to follow is barely a shift, while price hikes are the norm. KPMG's March 30, 2026, tariff survey found that 55% of U.S. businesses plan further price increases in the next six months, 32% will pass on all tariff-related cost increases, and another 42% will combine hikes with margin absorption — while only a slow, decisive minority are actively executing on reshoring to the United States.
For a small business that buys, makes, or resells imported goods, that means the tariff cost is not being reshored away — it is being priced in.
What the Data Shows
- Margins are falling. Businesses report rising operational costs and declining margins a year into tariffs, with tariff costs borne 90% by U.S. importers and consumers per the New York Fed, and a CBO split of 30% absorbed via margins and 70% passed to consumers.
- Hikes beat moves. The ISM-linked manufacturing survey behind the Utility Dive coverage found that price hikes are the dominant response; reshoring is a less common strategy, with most firms still in evaluation rather than execution.
- Pressures persist into 2026. Duke Fuqua Fed surveys show price growth would be 30% lower in 2025 and 25% lower in 2026 without tariffs — CFOs expect tariff-fueled price pressures to stretch past 2026.
What It Means for Small Importers
Do not plan for reshoring to save you this year. Plan for landed cost that includes 10–50% tariff stacks and for customers who are already seeing 70% of those costs in shelf prices. Re-price based on landed cost, not FOB, and re-forecast margin with the assumption that further hikes are coming — 55% of your suppliers are planning them.
