Washington, Oct. 6, 2025 – The impact of the large-scale import tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump has begun to appear in U.S. prices, particularly across a wide range of imported goods from soup cans to auto parts, the British daily Financial Times, FT, has reported.
This is attributed to companies that had been holding inventory absorbing the cost increases from tariffs no longer being able to withstand the burden and beginning to pass it on to consumers.
“The effect of the Trump tariffs is beginning to show up in U.S. prices across a wide range of imports, from soup cans to auto parts,” highlighting the situation where the tariff boomerang is becoming a reality.
Data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics proves the direct impact of the tariffs.
Over the six months until August of this year, audio equipment prices surged by 14%, apparel by 8%, and tools, hardware, and parts prices by 5%.
These items are products that the U.S. largely depends on imports for, and the results are interpreted as the tariff increases being fully reflected. Mark Mathis, chief economist at the National Retail Federation (NRF), warned that tariff-induced price increases are beginning to take hold, stating, “Goods inflation has been close to zero over the past two years. We are starting to see goods inflation gradually rise.”
Although there were assessments that the shock was less than expected, as the U.S. inflation rate in August of this year remained at 2.9% despite President Trump’s massive tariff rate hikes, it is now diagnosed that this was merely a temporary phenomenon where companies absorbed the shock through methods such as depleting inventory.
As prices for imported goods, which account for over 10% of U.S. consumer spending, rise, many companies are announcing price increases.
Telsey Advisory Group, a Wall Street market research firm, reported that major retailers have raised prices across various categories, including apparel (soft-line goods), bicycles and dishwashers (hard-line goods), and sports equipment since April of this year.
Joe Feldman, an analyst at the firm, asserted, “We view this as evidence that tariffs are having an impact and are a contributing factor to price increases.”
In particular, price increases for items directly hit by the tariff hikes are already clearly evident.
Ashley Furniture, the world’s largest furniture manufacturer, raised prices for over half of its products by at least 3.5% and up to 12% starting on the 5th, a measure following President Trump’s announcement on the 29th of last month to apply a 25% tariff rate on upholstered furniture such as sofas and chairs.
Additionally, at the end of last month, auto parts retailer AutoZone warned of price increases due to tariff hikes, and coffee prices are rising due to the imposition of a 50% import tariff on Brazil, the world’s largest coffee exporter.
With tariffs also raised on steel, canned food prices are soaring, further increasing the burden felt by consumers in their daily lives.
As Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell explained last month, “So far, it has been U.S. importers and retailers, not U.S. consumers, who have borne most of the burden from the tariff increases,” the question of who ultimately bears the tariff burden has been significant.
Nathan Sheets, global chief economist at Citi Group, stated, “So far, consumers have borne only 30–40% of the tariff burden, with companies shouldering about two-thirds,” and projected, “The consumer burden ratio is expected to expand to about 60% within the next few months.” (Financial Times)
