Businesses may hope that the U.S. Supreme Court will put an end to tariffs in November, but hope isn’t an effective strategy.

Even if the tariffs are overturned by the courts, Congress may pick up the battle, and the uncertainty will continue. At Waypost Advisors, every business we work with is actively working on ways to mitigate tariff impacts, but the reality is, for many industries, there will be no choice but to pass along costs as they continue to increase.

Businesses have started to become more vocal about the effects of tariffs and their need to pass increasing costs along to consumers. Of the companies on the S&P 500, nearly 70% cited business impacts from tariffs during their most recent earnings calls. If the tariff discussion does shift to Congress, expect businesses to invest significant lobbying dollars to sway lawmakers against tariffs.

Due to economic uncertainty and rising costs, we are seeing businesses and consumers tread lightly on major spending decisions. That’s evident in declining consumer confidence measurements and a recent poor jobs report.

Uncertainty around tariffs isn’t limited to a simple cost calculation. Tariff rules can be incredibly complicated, and businesses are spending a significant amount of time just to ensure they are following the new rules. Without going into the added complexity of the tax code, there’s also concern that the tariffs may result in potential double taxation issues for companies that operate both in the United States and abroad.

In addition, tariffs have had a chilling effect on mergers and acquisitions activity as the tariffs have called future earning and supply chain risks into question, which makes it difficult to properly value a business.

Uncertainty has remained a reality as the Trump administration has imposed and modified tariffs on countries around the world. People, and by default businesses, do not like uncertainty. If you are uncertain about your financial future, perhaps you decide to forego a vacation or a major purchase. Similarly, we are seeing businesses reluctant to expand headcount or make significant growth investments where a return isn’t certain.

Businesses are facing a headwind of increasing costs and this is driving a pullback on expanding payrolls, which has been showing up in recent monthly jobs reports.

Some businesses that produce products in the U.S. have seen a benefit from tariffs. Their pricing has become more competitive compared to imported goods. But the reality is that modern day supply chains are both complex and internationally dependent. The result is that the majority of manufacturers in the U.S. have seen increased costs because of tariffs.

We are recommending our clients focus on operational improvements and efficiency gains that can help offset the impact of tariffs. These include:

• An effective procurement strategy with a diverse supplier base.
• Ensuring products are classified under the correct tariff codes as misclassifications may be costing a business significantly.
• Taking advantage of tariff mitigation strategies where possible.
• Proper inventory planning with an eye towards cash flow improvement.
• Optimizing freight and warehousing to lower logistics costs.
• Ensuring a business team is utilizing its systems as efficiently as possible.

From a consumer perspective, the bad news is that many companies have already done what they can to mitigate the cost of tariffs in the short term. We anticipate that businesses will be forced to pass along additional costs to consumers, which will result in higher prices on goods as we look through the end of 2025.