The Tariffs Silver Bullet

Last Thursday, President Trump announced a fresh wave of tariffs that left many businesses reeling. Raising prices as needed, collaborating on import duty mitigation, and reforecasting aggressively, you can stay ahead of the storm. Below, we break down the tactics we’re seeing work in real time—and why strong partnerships are more crucial than ever.

Raise Prices Immediately

Regardless of whether you have inventory at a lower cost basis, we’re seeing customers raise prices by adding a “tariff surcharge” (easy to add, easy to adjust, easy to remove). We are not seeing any viable alternatives (e.g., Mexico or SE Asia isn’t working out for the companies brave enough to roll those dice).

Import Duty Mitigation

Through negotiations with stakeholders, work together to find ways to reduce costs, such as:

• Larger, less frequent orders (more cost-efficient to produce)

• Annual forecasts / blanket orders (better for long-term planning)

• Separating “goods” and “services” as distinct costs and invoices

Re-Forecast Aggressively

We are seeing customers take Q1 actuals (which have been soft) and reforecast the remainder of 2025 down 20–40%. This new revenue forecast can act as a dashboard, revealing which overheads, rents, and salaries are truly necessary. “Right-sizing” now for the coming 5–8 years can be a proactive (though sometimes unpleasant) move to protect your overall business.

Step-up Open and Frequent Communication with Factories

The factories that have historically supported your growth can continue to do so through this significant downturn — and they’ll still be there when we all emerge from this long tunnel. Keep those lines of communication open and plan face-to-face visits. They are also in a world of pain.

Yes, the title was a teaser. We don’t have a silver bullet. Our comments above are back to business basics: supply, demand, and planning. Heads up to survey the landscape — and keep those knitting needles busy.