Savannah businesses still feeling tariffs
- Savannah residents and business owners told Savannah Morning News that prices for groceries, pet food, repairs and imported supplies remain elevated a year later. - Importers can now seek refunds for tariffs the Supreme Court struck down, but claims run through a new Customs portal with technical rules. - Washington is replacing voided tariffs with temporary import taxes, extending uncertainty for Savannah firms. (apnews.com)
A year after President Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, Savannah residents and business owners say the costs are still showing up in everyday bills. (savannahnow.com) Savannah Morning News reported April 27 that locals are still paying more for groceries, pet food, home repairs and business supplies tied to imported goods. The pressure has continued even as the Port of Savannah kept moving cargo. (savannahnow.com) (wjcl.com) The local squeeze is colliding with a national legal and policy reset. The Supreme Court struck down Trump’s broad tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act in February, and businesses began filing refund claims last week. (apnews.com) (uschamber.com) Those refunds are supposed to flow through a new U.S. Customs and Border Protection system known as CAPE, which opened April 20 for the first phase of claims. Importers of record can seek repayment for duties collected under the invalidated tariffs. (apnews.com) (rsmus.com) But the refund process does not erase the uncertainty for firms ordering inventory now. AP reported April 28 that the White House is pursuing temporary import taxes to replace the tariffs the court rejected, with those stopgap levies set to expire in less than three months. (apnews.com) That leaves Savannah businesses dealing with two timelines at once: recovering money paid under old tariffs and pricing goods under possible new ones. Small companies told local outlets earlier this month that shifting trade rules were already making it harder to plan orders and costs. (savannahnow.com) (msn.com) Georgia’s ports have not collapsed under the pressure. The Georgia Ports Authority said in January that it moved 5.7 million twenty-foot equivalent container units in 2025, up 2.6% from the previous year. (savannahnow.com) But strong port volume has not insulated households from higher prices or small firms from trade-policy whiplash. In Savannah, the tariffs are no longer just a Washington fight; they are still showing up at the register and in back-office budgets. (savannahnow.com)
