74% of Import-Reliant U.S. Companies Plan to Hike Prices

A new ResumeTemplates survey of 735 import-reliant U.S. companies reveals that price shocks may soon hit consumers due to the tariffs announced on April 2, 2025, by President Trump. Nearly three in four companies (74%) say they’re likely to increase prices in response — with most planning to do so by the end of Q2 2025.

Highlights:

• 74% of companies say they’ll increase prices — 25% will do so immediately
• Hiring freezes (38%), delayed raises (33%), and layoffs (27%) rank among the top corporate responses
• 18% plan to shift manufacturing back to the U.S.
• 6% plan to replace skilled U.S. workers with offshore talent — particularly in IT support, software development, and customer service roles

3 in 4 Importing U.S. Companies Plan to Raise Prices in Response to New Tariffs

Price hikes are the most common reaction to the new tariff plan — but not the only one. Companies are preparing a mix of cost-cutting strategies, suggesting the ripple effects of tariffs will extend well beyond consumer prices.

According to the data, 74% of companies say they’ll raise prices. In addition, 38% plan to freeze hiring, and 33% say they’ll delay raises or bonuses. 27% expect to lay off workers, and 13% say they may cut salaries.

Beyond internal cost measures, companies are also rethinking where and how they operate. While 18% say they’ll move manufacturing to the U.S., 9% plan to replace U.S. workers with AI, and 6% say they’ll offshore skilled jobs to other countries.

Two-thirds of price hikes will happen by mid-2025

Companies that import from China (77%), Canada (76%), and Mexico (76%) are more likely to raise prices. Among industries with a sufficient sample size (at least 20 respondents), retail (84%), manufacturing (79%), and information technology (79%) are the most likely to implement price hikes.

Among the companies that plan to raise prices, 25% say they will do so immediately. Another 42% say the increases will happen by the end of Q2 2025.

Looking further ahead, 17% of companies are planning hikes later in the year. That includes 17% who say they will raise prices in Q3 2025, and 4% who expect to do so in Q4 2025.

Only 1% of companies say they will wait until 2026 or later to adjust pricing. Meanwhile, 12% are not yet sure when they will raise prices.

1 in 5 Companies Expect To Move Manufacturing Back to The U.S.

One of Trump’s key tariff goals is to bring manufacturing back home, and some industries are responding. Overall, 18% say they plan to move manufacturing back to the U.S.

Looking at this data industry (only industries with a sample size of at least 20 respondents were included in this analysis) banking and financial firms top the list, with 36% planning to move manufacturing to the U.S. Engineering (32%), computer software (24%), and manufacturing (21%) also show strong reshoring intent. Even tech-heavy sectors like IT (19%) and health care (15%) report meaningful shifts.

Some companies will move skilled jobs offshore, primarily in IT

Despite the tariff plan’s goal of bringing jobs back to the U.S., a subset of companies are preparing to do the opposite — offshoring skilled positions to reduce labor costs. About 6% of companies say they plan to move high-skill roles abroad. The most frequently cited functions include IT support and infrastructure (32%). software development (20%), and customer service and technical support (20%)

A smaller number also identified offshoring plans for financial analysis (7%), human resources (7%), and research and development (7%).

This survey was conducted between April 3 and April 7, 2025. A total of 735 U.S. business leaders participated. To ensure appropriate responses were, participants were required to meet specific demographic criteria and successfully complete screening questions prior to taking the full survey.