Stability Without Relief: Small Importers Still Strained by Tariffs

Nearly 250 days into tariffs, most small businesses continue to face severe sourcing and procurement disruptions and are strongly pessimistic about what lies ahead. 

According to a survey across 250 small business importers conducted in November by Freightos and Clearit, a digital customs broker, importers continue to face significant disruptions and higher costs due to tariff increases, with many reducing shipment volumes as a result. And despite more trade deals and China-US de-escalations, most businesses are more concerned about negative impacts from the trade war and more pessimistic about consumer spending over the holidays than they were earlier in the year. 

Earlier versions of this survey were conducted in August, May, and April.

Tariff Grief Hits for Small Importers: Key survey insights:

• Most businesses (62%) continued to find tariff changes significantly disruptive into early Q4 despite import taxes being reduced from a high of 145% to some 47.5% for Chinese imports to the US.
• Despite multiple trade deals in place and a de-escalated US-China status quo for the next twelve months, over half of importers (53%) are more concerned about negative impacts from tariffs than they were earlier in the year.
• While a quarter of businesses said the recent trade deals made planning easier, many reported these deals either didn’t change anything for them (33%) or locked in challenges of higher costs (40%).
• Three-quarters of businesses reported increased costs from tariffs, with most (57%) concerned that higher costs will negatively impact consumer holiday spending, up slightly from August (52%).  Many (43%) are reducing shipment volumes. 
• Importers are wistful of the days when politics played a smaller role in their spreadsheets. Sentiments coalesced around a desire for certainty to allow better planning and a return to business basics – sourcing decisions based on maximized quality and value and minimized costs – instead of rapid stops, starts, and pivots due to policy changes.

Tariff concerns still high, even with more certainty 

By November 2025, the tariff landscape had stabilized significantly: the US finally announced trade agreements with several major trading partners, and set a reduced tariff policy for China through late 2026. In addition, as carrier capacity continued to be added to the global market and freight prices dropped, imports became slightly more feasible.

But stability wasn’t much comfort for small businesses.

Most (62%) continued to find the tariff changes significantly disruptive, in line with the level of disruption reported back in May and August.

In fact, only 11% of all importers felt less concerned about tariffs than they had in the summer of 2025 when deadlines still loomed. A majority (53%) felt more concerned about tariff impacts on their businesses.

As for the trade agreements, while a quarter reported that deals with China, South Korea, and Vietnam have made shipment planning easier, most said they either changed nothing (33%) or that tariff-driven cost increases continue to make planning difficult (40%).

There’s more clarity now around what tariff levels will be for at least the next year – with lower tariffs on China than at any point since March, and lower tariffs on most countries than threatened in April – but importers report being more concerned about the coming year and negative impacts from the trade war than they were earlier this year.  And even with consumer spending holding up by many measures, most SMBs are also more pessimistic about consumer strength.

– Judah Levine, Head of Research, Freightos

Higher costs, concerns about consumer strength

Higher costs likely underpin importers’ concerns.

Most businesses reported cost increases, with 36% seeing costs rise by more than 5% and 38% faced jumps of 20% or more. This could indicate expectations that importing costs will stay elevated for the foreseeable future. 

Compared to August, slightly more importers (57% vs. 52%) are now concerned that tariffs will negatively impact consumer strength in the lead up to the holiday season. 

How Small Businesses are Adapting to Tariffs

While this doesn’t bode well for import-first businesses, the most common response to rising costs is to cut shipment volumes (43%) – a move that could have a noticeable impact on U.S. consumers.

However, small businesses are also adding in other strategies. More than a quarter have shifted Far East sourcing partners, many (20%) are exploring options like Free Trade Zones and bonded warehousing, and some (15%) have decided to source domestically. 

Forwarders are seeing this shift on the ground.

Star Liao of Foresmart Forwarding reported “a significant decline in shipping volumes from China to the US compared to last year, with reductions of around 50% or more for many SMEs.”

ExFreight CEO Charles Marrale noted that importers are looking to source from countries with lower tariffs, adding that many importers had “front-loaded cargo through August to get ahead of tariff increases. As those inventories draw down, higher costs are likely to be passed on to consumers, who are already on shaky ground.”

He noted that this creates “a real risk of weaker demand for consumer goods going into 2026, and more volatility as importers react to changes in trade policy.”

Muriel Chan of Unipower Logistics shared that the tariffs on China imports to the US “have inflicted severe damage on business on both sides,” adding that “Chinese SMEs are actively pivoting to other export markets.”

Importer Wish List

Open-ended responses made one thing clear: frequent policy shifts have made planning extremely difficult. Importers want greater certainty to enable planning and a return to basics – sourcing for quality and value while minimizing costs – rather than constant stops, starts, and pivots driven by policy changes. 

The Need for Predictability

“Going into 2026, my single biggest concern is the growing uncertainty around global trade policy: specifically the potential for new or escalated tariffs that could disrupt established supply chains,” one importer shared.

Another expressed a similar fear of continued volatility around sourcing: “Sourcing reliability and cost predictability have become much harder to maintain. Ensuring continuity while managing rising costs and mitigating geopolitical risk will be a key priority and our top concern.”

The lack of stability doesn’t just affect immediate planning – it also limits longer-term thinking. One shipper shared that if tariffs were to disappear, they would “…broaden our global sourcing base. We could evaluate high-quality, lower-cost suppliers in new regions without tariff-related cost penalties, improving overall competitiveness and flexibility.”

The Theoretical Return to China Sourcing

Of course, many would simply love to go back to normal. Without tariffs, said one, “We’d shift production back to the most cost-efficient and highest-capacity countries – mainly China – without penalty.” Another pointed to how schedules have become dictated by tariffs: “We’d resume normal operations with higher import values and frequency as opposed to bulking up and mass shipping when tariffs are favorable.”

While many companies have adjusted their supply chains to the changes, it certainly isn’t their first choice: “Assuming we felt confident they’d stay disappeared for a prolonged period, we’d shift more production back into China from other East Asian countries.”

What It Means for Importers

Nearly nine months in, tariffs have shifted from shock to operating constraint. Even with a calmer policy backdrop, most importers still face elevated costs, disruption, and worsening sentiment. Companies are adapting – cutting volumes, rebalancing suppliers, and testing FTZs and bonded options – but would much rather plan against stable, predictable rules. 

But until that predictability arrives, resilience will matter: careful planning taking tariffs into account, duty‑mitigation and classification reviews, flexibility with sourcing and shipping timing, mode, and lane, and inventory strategies that reduce whiplash.

As Adam Lewis, Clearit President, puts it: “What stands out in this survey is just how persistent the cost pressure has become. Three quarters of businesses facing higher costs, nearly half reducing shipment volumes. That mirrors exactly what we’re seeing across our SMB clients. These aren’t strategic shifts, they’re defensive maneuvers. Importers want to get back to basics: buying based on quality and value, not political timelines. The survey reinforces that unless tariff volatility eases, cost-cutting and cautious shipment planning will remain the norm.”