Businesses are already trying to pass tariff costs onto customers, Fed report says

Source: NBC News/CNBC

April 23, 2025, 4:03 PM EDT / Source: CNBC


Businesses dealing with the early stages of President Donald Trump’s tariffs are looking for ways to pass increasing costs onto consumers, according to a Federal Reserve report Wednesday.

As Trump ordered against-the-board levies on U.S. imports and higher duties on Chinese products, the Fed’s Beige Book indicated how they plan to proceed. Companies reported getting notices from suppliers about rising costs, and they looked to find ways not to absorb the increases while noting uncertainty over the ability to pass them along to customers.

“Most Districts noted that firms expected elevated input cost growth resulting from tariffs,” the report said. “Many firms have already received notices from suppliers that costs would be increasing.”

Broadly speaking, the report, which comes out about every seven weeks, characterized economic growth as “little changed” from the March 5 report, though it noted that “uncertainty around international trade policy was pervasive across” the Fed’s 12 districts.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/businesses-are-already-trying-pass-tariff-costs-customers-fed-report-s-rcna202667