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Retail CEOs Wrestle With Higher Prices As New Trump Tariffs Loom

Writer's picture: By The Financial DistrictBy The Financial District

Retailers across sectors — from discount chains and footwear brands to big-box stores — are bracing for uncertainty as potential tariffs proposed by President-elect Donald Trump, Brooke DiPalma reported the developments for Yahoo Finance.


Retailers are preparing to adapt by employing strategies dubbed “playbook-plus.” I Photo: Tony Webster Wikimedia Commons



Trump has floated a range of tariff proposals, including a 10% tariff on all imports and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports.


During his Senate confirmation hearing on Thursday, Trump’s Treasury Secretary nominee, Scott Bessent, affirmed that tariffs would be central to Trump’s plans in the coming months, describing them as “a generalized tariff to raise revenue for the federal budget.”



Phillip Magness, a senior fellow at the Independent Institute, commented: “We haven’t seen anything like this since the 1920s and ’30s. Almost every president between then and Trump has favored trade liberalization, whereas Trump is aiming to return to protective tariffs.”


With congressional majorities, Magness added, Trump might feel more empowered to leverage the tariff powers of the presidency compared to his previous term.



Retailers are preparing to adapt by employing strategies dubbed “playbook-plus,” Joe Feldman of Telsey Advisory Group told Yahoo Finance. During Trump’s first administration, companies collaborated with vendors, adjusted pricing, and diversified supply chains, leaving them better equipped for potential tariffs.


However, Feldman warned that if the proposed tariffs are enacted, retailers would be forced to raise prices, likely within three to six months.



Discount retailers such as Five Below and Dollar Tree are expected to be among the hardest hit. Imports from China account for approximately 30% of Five Below’s sales, according to Feldman’s data.




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