In shocking forecasts, American consumers and small retailers may soon face a harsh reality—empty shelves.
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As imports from China falter, driven by President Trump’s global tariff strategy, the supply chain is bracing for impact.
Experts are sounding alarms about potential empty shelves at select retailers due to the harsh global reciprocal tariffs announced by President Trump.
There’s a temporary 90-day pause on import tariffs for most, but China is being hit hard, with some goods facing levies as steep as 245%.
This battle has not gone unnoticed; China retaliated with its own 125% tariffs on U.S. goods and is even considering restrictions on Hollywood films, The Sun reports.
The tariff war risks the lifeline of small businesses far more than that of large corporations.
E-commerce giants like Shein and Temu might shoulder the blow by passing costs onto consumers, but venerable mom-and-pop shops could face an existential threat.
Some of these businesses have already begun pausing imports from China.
The result could very well be barren shelves, with consumers feeling the pinch as soon as May.
“The small and medium-sized retailers will have a harder time to mitigate the tariffs…and would be the first to run out of inventory,” Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy for the National Federation of Retailers, told The New York Post.
While CEOs from retail giants like Walmart, Target, and The Home Depot discuss these tariffs with the President in productive meetings, small businesses lack such direct influence.
Companies reliant on Chinese imports are voicing concerns over heightened operational costs, and business owners are struggling with the increased expenses and order planning complications.
Economists like Strategic Management scholar Rita McGrath anticipate shortages of certain non-inventoried items within mere weeks, an associated impact of our current trade policies.
With a significant fall in merchandise shipments to U.S. ports and even ships skipping Chinese ports altogether due to halted shipments, the ripple effect is starting to be observed by domestic retailers.
As we look to an unpredictable future, consumers are taking proactive steps, rushing to grab cars before potential price hikes and essentials like coffee, which are likely to increase in cost due to these tariffs.
Rita McGrath aptly comments, “You wouldn’t put money down if you had no idea…what the situation was going to be going forward,” reflecting the common-sense sentiment many share as uncertainty prevails.
Dependence on China, accounting for over half of U.S. containerized imports from Asia, is a vulnerability that’s clear as day to those paying attention.
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The CEOs of three of the nation's biggest retailers — Walmart, Target and Home Depot — privately warned President Trump in an Office meeting on Monday that his tariff and trade policy could disrupt supply chains, raise prices and empty shelves… https://t.co/YeFZ3DHwm2
— Jim VandeHei (@JimVandeHei) April 23, 2025
