President Donald Trump has mired the United States in an idiotic trade war with China and, as that trade war drags on, it’s more and more likely that American consumers are going to start eating the cost. In fact, it appears to already be happening. More and more companies are talking about instituting a “tariff surcharge” to customer receipts, one that would offset the newly conjured expenses spurred by new import duties.
Earlier this week, we noted that small business owners on Reddit were increasingly discussing adding new “tariff surcharges” to their products to offset the costs of Trump’s trade policies. Businesses are already moving from discussion to action, however. As of this week, companies have begun to inform buyers that prices are going up, and they haven’t been shy about why.
New York Magazine reports that furniture companies Hem and Industry West both sent out emails to customers this week, alerting them to the need to raise prices. A host of other home goods and appliances companies have done the same, including those that sell wellness, cooking, furniture, and electronics products. It’s also being reported that U.S.-based chipmaker Micron will begin imposing new charges to make up for the costs associated with the president’s tariff regime. Micron’s manufacturing sites are mostly based in Asia, which is now suffering under the new trade realities.
Another company, a sexual wellness brand named Dame, also announced this week that it would be instituting a $5 surcharge to make up for the cost of importing vibrators from China. “So we’ve made the tough call to adjust prices to be able to keep bringing you the quality, body-safe products you love,” the company said in a post on Instagram. “We’re adding $5 for now—which doesn’t cover the full cost as we hate to put the brunt of this on you—while we figure out what to do next.” Dame’s CEO, Alexandra Fine, told CNBC: “I want people to understand how it impacts us.” She added: “We are renegotiating again with our manufacturers. We are adjusting our logistics. We are changing our inventory.”
Microchips and vibrators may not seem like dire necessities for most folks, but as the trade war drags on, it seems increasingly likely that the price of day-to-day products will also rise. Indeed, coffee—a thing most Americans consider indispensable—is expected to spike in price soon, which isn’t going to be great for Americans’ productivity (I know I’m barely a person before I’ve imbibed my first quart of caffeine for the day). Seeing as a lot of coffee beans are sourced from Asian countries (many of which have been hit with different sets of tariffs), it makes sense that your first morning cup of the day is about to jump in price.
And then there’s food and clothing sellers, which have also expressed concern over the rising cost of doing business. Again, these companies (or their suppliers) have said that they plan to point the finger at the Trump administration when it comes to higher costs. “We take a little bit of a hit on our margins, but we still have to pass something off to our customers because there’s no way anyone in our position can eat 24%. We don’t even make 24%,” Nobu Yamanashi, the head of seafood company Yama Seafood, told ABC. “What I’ve seen… what one of my customers say is that they might put a surcharge, a tariff surcharge, instead of changing the menu price, so that it’s very clear.”
Indeed, Wired spoke to several retailers who said they’ll be adding a line to their receipts that explicitly spells out how much of the final total was due to Trump’s tariffs. So, if your items come with an eye-popping price tag, look out for that surcharge.
