The Supreme Court struck down some tariffs. Don't expect falling prices.
The Supreme Court struck down some of President Donald Trump's tariffs last week, but that doesn't mean prices will come down any time soon.
Even if importers get refunded to the tune of $175 billion a big if lower prices may not be a priority for businesses that have been stressed by years of unexpected costs. Plus, a lot of uncertainty remains, especially as tariff policies change rapidly. That includes a 15% global tariff Trump unveiled over the weekend.
The real question is whether companies pass those savings along or use them to shore up their own margins, said Tim Beckhoff, senior director of industry solutions at supply chain software firm o9 Solutions. For now, its more about refund chaos than consumer relief.
While only a small subset of small businesses pay tariffs directly, recent Bank of America data found that tariff payments were up 142% year-over-year in January on a 3-month moving average. And while consumer spending saw year-over-year growth of 2.6% in January, small business profitability growth dropped to near 0%, according to the data.
https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2026/02/23/trump-tariffs-pricing-consumers.html