Attempts to mitigate tariff expenses can end up being costly, whether that's the increased price of freight or the opportunity cost of tying up capital in inventory, Gragg said. Some firms will have to pass the costs on to consumers, he said.
But the current uncertainty around import duties isn't necessarily a sea change from the past few years.
Some electronics still have tariffs on them from Trump's first term. Semiconductors from China currently have a 50% tariff, for example. The Biden administration largely kept the import duty regime from the first Trump administration in place, giving firms a few years with less drastic changes, but many still had to grapple with import duties.