CEOs plan for tariffs to stick
A PwC survey reported by Fortune finds most chief executives now expect recent tariffs to be a durable part of planning rather than a temporary political shock. At the same time, Reuters says the U.S. plans to launch a refund system on April 20 to return $166bn in tariffs the Supreme Court found unlawful, creating a mix of persistent tariff expectations and active legal unwind. ( )
Chief executives are now planning as if tariffs will outlast this White House, even as Washington prepares to start refunding billions in duties courts struck down. (finance.yahoo.com) A PwC survey cited by Fortune found 86% of United States executives now treat tariffs as a permanent part of business planning, and the survey covered 111 chief executives across 21 industries, with 80% based in the United States. (finance.yahoo.com, beckershospitalreview.com) At the same time, United States Customs and Border Protection told a court it will launch the first phase of its new refund system, called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, on April 20 for tariffs the Supreme Court invalidated on February 20. (money.usnews.com, skadden.com) The legal split is between tariffs businesses still expect to face and tariffs courts said were never lawful under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a statute the Supreme Court said does not authorize tariffs. (skadden.com) That leaves companies planning for a trade regime that still changes prices, contracts and supply chains, even while one large block of earlier duties is being unwound through the courts. (finance.yahoo.com, forbes.com) The refund pool is enormous. Court filings and legal analyses put the total at about $165 billion to $166 billion, spread across more than 53 million import entries and more than 330,000 importers. (skadden.com, money.usnews.com) But the first phase will not reach everyone. Politico reported that Phase 1 is limited to certain unliquidated entries and some entries within 80 days of liquidation, which trade lawyers said could leave many importers waiting for later rounds. (politico.com) Businesses have not been waiting for the courts to settle the whole picture. A KPMG survey released March 30 found 34% of large companies were already passing most tariff costs to consumers, up from 21% in September 2025 and 13% in May 2025. (forbes.com) PwC’s broader 2026 global chief executive survey, released in January, also showed confidence weakening before this latest refund rollout: only 30% of chief executives said they were confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months, down from 38% in 2025. (pwc.com) So the signal from boardrooms and courts is moving in two directions at once: one set of tariffs is headed back to importers, while tariff planning itself is becoming routine corporate policy. (finance.yahoo.com, money.usnews.com)
