Major U.S. companies are adjusting fast, but few are escaping the cost. President Donald Trump is preparing to impose sweeping new tariffs by 1 August, pushing the U.S. toward a trade regime unseen since the 1940s.
From canned food giants to tech exporters, the pressure is building. Conagra, which owns brands such as Hunt’s and Birds Eye, says inflation on tinplate steel is forcing it to raise prices. Nike expects to pay $1 billion in new tariffs this year and is already planning what it calls “surgical” price increases.
Fastenal, a U.S. industrial supplier, is now splitting shipments between Canada and the U.S., disrupting its supply chain. Yedi Houseware, a kitchen appliance importer, says it has paid more in tariffs this year than in the past decade combined.
Trump's policy has lifted the average U.S. import tax from around 2% to roughly 15%, the highest in more than 80 years. While some new deals are being struck — including with the UK, Vietnam, and Indonesia — U.S. allies are also looking elsewhere.
“The U.S. is no longer seen as the leader of the global trading system,” said Alan Wolff, former WTO deputy director general. “It will do what it wants, regardless of past obligations.”
That shift is visible on multiple fronts. European officials are now expanding deals with South America and the UAE. China is forging new ties with Europe. And U.S. companies such as Hewlett Packard are relocating production to Thailand, Vietnam, and Mexico.
The impact of tariffs extends beyond geopolitics. Inflation is back in focus. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed victory over “inflation propagandists,” yet consumer prices are rising — up 2.7% in June year-on-year.
Trump says the tariffs will restore U.S. manufacturing and end unfair foreign trade practices. But the data tells a mixed story. Factory construction is down. Manufacturing jobs have dipped. And companies such as Conagra and Fastenal are raising prices just to keep pace.
Some firms are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other tools to cut losses. Cardinal Health says it reduced its expected tariff costs from $450 million to $75 million by using smarter logistics and pressing suppliers.
But others feel cornered. Yedi’s CEO called his firm “collateral damage” and said the president’s claim that foreign governments pay the tariffs is false.
Trump’s strategy of unpredictability is driving a new global realignment. The U.S. is betting on pressure. But the world is already moving to adapt.
Hundreds of thousands of deep-diving turtles, known as olive ridley sea turtles, have arrived on Mexico’s southern coast for one of nature&rs...
U.S. President Donald Trump has again said Iran is keen to reach a deal quickly, but a senior Iranian security official rejected the claim, saying ...
A drone hit a petrol station in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv early on Tuesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the...
Maritime trackers received new reports of an attack on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), adding to concerns about energy supplies after Saudi Arabia shut down a vital oil pipeline on Saturday.
A Kyiv-Warsaw train was struck near the Polish border, Ukraine's state railway firm said on Sunday. No passengers were injured. Ukrainian Railways said that the country's railways were facing systematic attacks for a second day and warned of widespread delays.
U.S. Central Command said 101 commercial vessels have been redirected in the Strait of Hormuz, while oil prices rose more than three per cent amid fresh regional attacks and supply concerns.
A Russian strike on a farm warehouse in Pryluky, north-central Ukraine, has killed at least three people, local police said. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said an attack on a train near the Polish border was an attempt to intimidate Ukraine's allies.
U.S. President Donald Trump has again said Iran is keen to reach a deal quickly, but a senior Iranian security official rejected the claim, saying Tehran will not negotiate until its conditions are met.
A drone hit a petrol station in Ukraine's capital of Kyiv early on Tuesday, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on the Telegram messaging app, adding that there was also a strike on warehouse facilities in another part of the city.
University students in Mexico have held a vigil for a 21-year-old Spanish exchange student killed in the central state of Morelos, with authorities investigating her death as a possible feminicide.
Every day since a torrent of mud and rocks destroyed a Nepal-China border crossing high up in the Himalayas last month, Arushi Gupta's parents have called and messaged their missing daughter hoping she somehow survived.
Foreign ministers of Cambodia and Thailand delivered opening statements on Tuesday at the first meeting of a UN arbitration process to resolve a long-running maritime dispute between the two Southeast Asian neighbours.
A federal judge has halted a Trump administration immigration policy that would have significantly changed how long foreign students, exchange visitors and international journalists can remain in the United States.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment