Tariff Whiplash Leaves U.S. Companies Wondering What Lies Ahead

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The threat of new tariffs emerged early during President Trump’s campaign, hibernated for a spell while the details were worked out, reemerged last week as double-digit tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, and then retreated when two of the countries conceded to the new administration’s requests. 

The Chinese tariffs are still in effect—and have in fact since been countered—but the other two will stay in the background, at least for now. All of this back-and-forth has given supply chain operators whiplash as they try to 1) make sense of new rules that actually go into place; and 2) figure out what to do about it. 

Even the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) got caught up in the action when it stopped accepting packages from China and Hong Kong in response to the elimination of the de minimis rule (which allowed goods worth less than $800 to enter the U.S. tariff-free). Within hours the USPS was back to accepting packages from both countries.

By the time those on the West Coast woke up, the suspension had been lifted. “The whiplash from the roughly 12-hour pause raised new questions about how exactly the world’s sprawling shipping apparatus would navigate two major changes: the implementation of President Donald Trump's new tariffs against China and the end of a policy long used by Shein and Temu to avoid US import fees,” Business Insider reports.

Neck Brace Anyone?

A neck brace may be in order right about now for supply chain managers, procurement professionals and logistics professionals who entered 2025 not knowing exactly how Trump’s tariff strategy would play out. 

For now, at least, the 10% tariff on all Chinese imports seems to be sticking. In response, China announced an import tax on a very targeted list of U.S. imports, including a 15% tariff on coal and natural gas and a 10% duty on a longer list of products.  

According to AP, the impact of China’s measures on U.S. exports may be limited. “Though the U.S. is the biggest exporter of liquid natural gas globally, it does not export much to China,” it reports, noting that in 2023, the U.S. exported 173,247 million cubic feet of LNG to China, about 2.3% of its total natural gas exports.

Addressing Ongoing Uncertainty

As companies work to make sense of fast-moving changes to tariff policy that threaten to reshape global supply chains, WSJ says the machinery of tariffs is complicated and how the levies will play out isn’t known, largely because the White House appears to be using them partly as a negotiating tool. 

“It isn’t yet clear if Trump’s ultimate goal in a trade fight with China is to negotiate a deal with Beijing or to use tariffs and other tools to engineer a more decisive economic break,” the publication adds.

With the one constant being uncertainty in this environment, supply chain operators appear to be preparing for the worst but hoping for the best, so to speak. For example, gCaptain says automotive manufacturers may face particular challenges as tariffs on foreign-made auto parts are expected to increase manufacturing costs and could trigger production delays. 

“Uncertainty in global trade underscores the need for businesses to reassess their supply chain strategies and reduce dependency on high-risk regions,” Moody’s John Donigian tells gCaptain. “Businesses must act swiftly to navigate rising costs and supply chain disruptions from potential tariffs and retaliatory measures.”