- President-elect Donald Trump proposed broad tariffs on imports, including up to 60% on goods from China.
- Economists said his tariff proposals could spike inflation as companies tend to pass costs on to consumers.
- Some companies have already said Trump's proposals will force them to increase prices.
Some executives have warned that price hikes are on the way if President-elect Donald Trump's tariff plans go into effect.
Trump proposed a 60% tariff on goods imported from China on the campaign trail, coupled with a 10% to 20% tariff on goods imported from other countries. While the president-elect could choose not to enact tariffs at that scale once he assumes office, economists and the market have predicted that his proposals would spike inflation and force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
A number of companies have already begun responding to Trump's election victory and the implications his tariff proposals will have on the costs of their goods. Executives told analysts on earnings calls that it would be difficult to maintain current prices under Trump's broad tariffs.
Other companies are still waiting for more information from the president-elect. Tarang Amin, CEO of e.l.f. Beauty, told Business Insider that the company must first see the policy Trump enacts before making any changes to its pricing, and that a new policy wouldn't affect the business until after its 2025 fiscal year.
"We don't like tariffs because they are a tax on the American people," Amin said, adding that the company has been subject to a 25% tariff since 2019 due to policies from Trump's first term, "and at that time we pulled all the levers available to us to minimize the effects to our company and our community."
Trump has previously said that his proposals would not influence prices on US goods: "I am going to put tariffs on other countries coming into our country, and that has nothing to do with taxes to us. That is a tax on another country," he said in an August speech.
Below are the companies that are warning of price increases if Trump's tariff proposals are implemented.
AutoZone
Philip Daniele, CEO of auto parts company AutoZone, told analysts on a September earnings call that tariff policies have "ebbed and flowed over the years," and if Trump does implement more tariffs, "we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer."
"We generally raise prices ahead of that," Daniele said, adding that prices would gradually settle over time. "So, that's historically what we've done."
Columbia Sportswear
Tim Boyle, CEO of Columbia Sportswear, told analysts on an October earnings call that the company is "very concerned about the imposition of tariffs. " While he considers Columbia adept at managing tariffs, "trade wars are not good and not easy to win."
Boyle also told the Washington Post in October that the company is "set to raise prices."
"It's going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable for Americans," he said.
Stanley Black & Decker
Donald Allan, CEO of manufacturing company Stanley Black & Decker, told analysts in an October earnings call that the company has been evaluating "a variety of different scenarios" to plan for new tariffs under Trump.
"And obviously, coming out of the gate, there would be price increases associated with tariffs that we put into the market," Allan said, adding that "there's usually some type of delay given the processes that our customers have around implementing price."
Allan also said that the company would consider moving its production out of China to other countries, like Mexico, to reduce the impact of a 60% tariff on Chinese imported goods. Steve Madden was among other companies that announced plans to import fewer goods from China, with its CEO Edward Rosenfeld saying on an earnings call that the company has already started that process.