Tariffs seen as permanent

American companies are starting to budget for tariffs as a lasting cost, not a temporary policy tied to one president. (fortune.com) Fortune reported on April 14 that a PwC survey found 86% of United States executives now treat tariffs as a “permanent planning assumption,” and many expect the duties to remain after President Donald Trump leaves office. (fortune.com) PwC said in January that chief executive confidence in revenue growth had fallen to a five-year low as leaders weighed tariffs alongside geopolitical risk, cyber threats, and uneven returns from artificial intelligence spending. (pwc.com) For importers, a tariff is a tax collected at the border, and the bill depends on how Customs classifies the product. United States Customs and Border Protection says the Harmonized Tariff Schedule sets rates for virtually every item, and specialists can spend years learning how to classify goods correctly. (cbp.gov) That classification step has become more consequential in 2026 because the United States International Trade Commission’s tariff schedule ties duty rates to detailed product codes, including China-specific tariff lines updated as recently as February 25, 2026. (hts.usitc.gov, hts.usitc.gov) A trade guide for tools and equipment says many importers start with a supplier’s six-digit Harmonized System code, but the final four digits in the United States tariff code can change the actual duty owed. The guide says cumulative rates on some Chinese goods now exceed 100% once multiple tariff layers are added. (newbuyingagent.com) One big change already took effect on May 2, 2025, when products from China and Hong Kong lost access to the long-used de minimis exemption for low-value shipments. Customs said requests for duty-free entry under that rule would be rejected starting at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time that day. (content.govdelivery.com) The White House said the April 2, 2025 executive order ended duty-free treatment for those low-value imports after the Commerce Department said systems were ready to collect the revenue. Customs said in December 2025 that it had collected more than $1 billion in duties on more than 246 million low-cost shipments since the phaseout began. (whitehouse.gov, cbp.gov) Section 301 is another reason executives are not waiting for a reset. The United States tariff schedule’s China list shows additional duties still attached to covered goods under Section 301, and private trade references tracking the same schedule put many of those rates in a 7.5% to 25% range before other duties are stacked on top. (hts.usitc.gov, gettariff.com) The result is that tariff planning now reaches into product design, sourcing, and pricing instead of staying inside a customs department. When chief executives say tariffs are sticking around, they are reacting to rules that are already embedded in the 2026 import system. (fortune.com, cbp.gov, newbuyingagent.com)