Businesses brace for tariff déjà vu

**SPEAKER_1** (0:00)
This podcast is supported by Even Realities. Even G2 productivity smart glasses, designed to keep real-time support right in view, with teleprompting, conversation support, real-time translation, AI assistance and more, help you stay on top of work and daily life. And unlike most smart glasses, they're designed to look and feel like premium eyewear, with no camera and a lightweight 36-gram design you can wear all day. The more context you give them, the smarter they get, adapting to how you work and what you need. To learn more about EVEN G2, go to evenrealities.com and see how everyday smart glasses keep helpful information in sight so you can stay productive and hands-free throughout the day.
And for our listeners, use promo code Marketplace at evenrealities.com to get 10% off EVEN Ring 1 and or EVEN Clip when you add them to your EVEN G2 order. That's evenrealities.com. Promo code Marketplace.

**SPEAKER_2** (1:00)
When you're at work, you never know when you'll be interrupted. But with the Dell Pro powered by Intel Core Ultra with vPro, no matter what distracts you, your laptop won't. It's battery optimized for the way you work, with built-in intelligence that quiets distractions when you need to focus. Your laptop will help keep you locked in, even when it's bring-your-dog-to-work day. Built for those who stay in the flow, the Dell Pro, built for you. dell.com/delldashpro.

**Kai Ryssdal** (1:34)
If you're keeping track, I think I've only said economic data like three times this week. From American Public Media, this is Marketplace.
In Los Angeles, I'm Kai Ryssdal. It is Thursday today, the 16th of July. Good as always to have you along, everybody. Retail sales are where we begin today. We are still buying stuff. Thank you, American consumer, but not as much as we had been buying. Thank you, inflation, underlying unease, and oh yeah, don't forget, tariffs, which have fallen out of the headlines, but are still very much a thing and might be becoming more of a thing real soon. The White House announced new 25% tariffs on Brazil today, and there are more coming to replace the president's tariff Palooza import taxes that the Supreme Court said were illegal. They're coming soon, a couple of months maybe. So as we brace for tariffs, I guess it's 3 now. Marketplace's Sabri Benishaw gets us going with how businesses are coping this time round.

**Sabri Beneshor** (2:45)
Even in the flower business, tariffs will find you. Flowers for Dreams is headquartered in Chicago and does flower delivery and events across the Midwest. CEO Stephen Dime has been bracing for changes to the tariff situation.

**Stephen Dime** (3:00)
Yeah, we're starting to work on our winter menu, our Valentine's preparation. We know we're going to be hit hard with tighter margins and some pricing pressure. Then we're preparing for that because it happened last year.

**Sabri Beneshor** (3:12)
Dime actually prefers to get his flowers from the Midwest. But you know, not everything grows there. So he's got to do some importing and he's trying to place those orders early. But that is not really how flowers work.

**Stephen Dime** (3:25)
Every person up and down the supply chain reserves that right to make changes due to the delicate nature, the fragile nature of flowers.

**Sabri Beneshor** (3:33)
So prices are up and so are substitutions and people ordering flowers for like their weddings don't love that.

**Stephen Dime** (3:39)
No client loves that.

**Sabri Beneshor** (3:40)
A lot of businesses have tried, like they did last year, to front load their imports ahead of new batches of tariffs. The National Retail Federation estimates port volumes surged 19% year over year in June. Jonathan Gold is vice president of supply chain and customs policy there.

**Jonathan Gold** (3:56)
You're seeing higher freight rates as a result of some of this. You've got higher costs for inventory because you're going to hold the inventory longer than you typically would.

**Sabri Beneshor** (4:05)
Active Style is a company that sells Scandinavian activewear. Nate Axvig is the CEO. He orders early when he can, but it means paying for everything early too.

**Nate Axvig** (4:15)
You're out money and a good chunk of it before you even get the product on your website or on the sales floor.

**Sabri Beneshor** (4:22)
He's had to take out loans. Some businesses are armed with know-how from last year's tariffs, how to navigate and litigate the technicalities of tariff rules, or they have sophisticated pricing plans, raise prices on one good to pay for the tariffs on the other.
But more than anything, says Randall Sargent, partner at Oliver Wyman, they're just over it.

**Randall Sargent** (4:42)
There's so much uncertainty around it and then it's like the war gaming. And I think a lot of retailers that I talk to are kind of like, are we really doing this again?