Tariffs becoming permanent

Corporate America is starting to treat tariffs less like a policy swing and more like a fixed cost of doing business. PwC said 86% of United States executives now build tariffs into long-term planning instead of waiting for them to be rolled back. (pwc.com) PwC published that finding on April 13 after surveying executives last month, and 65% still called tariff policy a moderate or serious risk. Fortune reported April 14 that many chief executives now expect the import taxes to last beyond President Donald Trump’s term. (pwc.com) (fortune.com) That shift hardened after the Supreme Court struck down many tariffs that had been imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act on February 20, 2026. The White House responded with a new surcharge under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, a law that lets a president impose a temporary import duty of up to 15% for as long as 150 days unless Congress extends it. (raymondjames.com) (whitehouse.gov) (uscode.house.gov) Customs and Border Protection told importers on February 23 that the Section 122 action imposed an additional 10% duty on imported goods from every country, unless exempted. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on April 14 that the administration is also conducting Section 301 studies and that earlier tariff levels could be back in place by the beginning of July. (govdelivery.com) (bloomberg.com) The result is that companies are planning around both the tariffs already on the books and the possibility that broader ones return within weeks. The Budget Lab at Yale estimated on April 2 that the average effective United States tariff rate stood at 11.0%, and said it would still be 8.2% even if the Section 122 surcharge expires on schedule. (budgetlab.yale.edu) Automakers show what that looks like in practice. A 25% tariff on imported cars took effect April 3, 2025, and S&P Global Mobility said manufacturers responded with production pauses, shipment holds, and reviews of model lineups and plant footprints. (spglobal.com) Digital Dealer reported on March 31 that the auto tariffs had already added about $30 billion in costs and were pushing up vehicle prices. Cars.com said manufacturers from Volkswagen to Aston Martin had adjusted pricing, inventory, or delivery plans as the tariff hit imported vehicles. (digitaldealer.com) (cars.com) The politics have also become less one-directional than many companies expected a few years ago. PwC’s Kristin Bohl said tariffs have now persisted through three administrations, which helps explain why executives are shifting from hoping for relief to redesigning sourcing, pricing, and capital spending around them. (msn.com) (pwc.com) That leaves businesses with a narrow calendar and a wider strategic problem. If July brings back the previous tariff levels, companies that treated tariffs as temporary will be behind the ones that already treated them as permanent. (bloomberg.com) (pwc.com)