What To Buy Before Tariffs Raise The Price Of Everything

Forbes

02-05-2025

Since the second Trump administration announced sweeping global tariffs on April 2, 2025, it has been a dizzying process trying to track what duties are actually active and on what nations, goods and resouces. What is clear, according to numerous experts we consulted, is that the prices Americans will soon be paying on all sorts of products—from sofas to washing machines—are going to rise; that's because tariffs, often positioned as taxes levied on foreign countries and companies, are, in fact, paid by American businesses importing the goods, with some level of elevated consumer prices following on.
To better understand what the effects of these policies will be and how our readers' lives may change, we spoke with multiple economists and finance researchers to find out what developments we can expect to see across the many products we test and recommend at Forbes Vetted. These experts also shared their advice on how to think about consumer purchasing in the short term, and gave guidance on how to navigate this tricky and uncertain time.
Currently, there is a 10% baseline tariff on everything imported to the United States, with higher tariffs imposed on various industries based abroad. Many of these tariffs are nearly as high as 50%, per data sourced from the government.
'A baseline tariff is a tariff rate set by our government on all countries,' says Professor Albert Williams, Ph.D, Finance Chair of the Wayne Huizenga College of Business at Nova Southeastern University. On the other hand, he explains that a reciprocal tariff is a further elevated duty imposed as either a retaliation or a punitive measure implemented based on perceived unfair trade practices.
Few of those elevated reciprocal tariffs are currently in place, though, as the White House granted a 90-day freeze on April 9, temporarily keeping things at that baseline 10%. (Some industries, like automobiles, steel and aluminum, and as of April 14, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals, might see levies go into effect despite this.) One other—and quite notable—exception to this reprieve is on imports from China, who has the world's second-largest economy.
'The entire menu of tariffs currently in effect is well over 100% on China,' says Professor Jason Miller, Ph.D, with Michigan State University's Eli Broad College of Business. He adds: 'There are tariffs on [almost everything] except for carveouts for [products like] lumber and wood products and copper,' Miller says. 'A great many products are affected,' he adds.
What won't be affected, at least for now, is a selection of tech products. Scarcely a week after imposing wide-ranging blanket tariffs on China, the Trump Administration announced exemptions on smartphones, computers, computer chips and several other high-tech product categories, making them subject to much lower duties than the rest of China's imports. This is seen as a direct but short-term assist to American tech giants, chiefly Apple. But it might be a short-term gift, as the White House has said tariffs on these items are 'coming soon.'
They will now. In the past, orders coming from China (which has been levied with a formidable 145% tariff rate) were exempt from tariff fees if the total value of the order was under $800 USD. This was because of a rule known as the 'de minimis exemption," the Merriam-Webster Dictionary definition literally meaning 'lacking significance or importance; so minor as to merit disregard.'
That exemption is no more. As of May 2nd, 2025, even these smaller orders will be assessed with fees that more than double the cost paid at the time of import, and those costs will generally be passed on to consumers within the United States. According to an official White House press release: 'On average, CBP [Customs and Border Protection] processes over 4 million de minimis shipments into the U.S. each day.'
It remains to be seen how much profit, if any, the new fees will actually bring to American coffers, as it often costs more for CBP to process smaller orders than the revenues raised cover. And according to PBS, orders will likely take longer to get to your door.
According to Professor Babak Hafezi, who teaches International Business at American University, 'How these tariffs have been imposed will cause nearly everything to increase in price.' He adds that 'We have to understand that we have a globalized supply chain with parts being made all over the world and [products] assembled in other countries.'
While the exemption of many high-tech devices might keep the price of iPhones, laptops, and other hardware stabler than previously expected—at least for now—you can expect higher price tags for things like appliances, TVs and other complex manufactured goods. Imported foods, apparel, luxury items and more will become pricier, including everything from French wine to Italian leather. And coffee and chocolate will no doubt be more expensive, too.
Ironically, tariffs levied on foreign goods often prompt an increase on domestically produced goods as well. If a retailer raises the price on a pound of French cheese by five dollars, for example, they may well elevate the cost of a comparable American product by two or three dollars, since it will still seem like the better bargain. The same is true for other domestically produced products, from apparel to technology to toys.
And in addition to higher prices for the consumer, tariffs may lead to supply chain disruptions for both internationally and domestically produced products. This is, in part, because China has vastly limited its exports to the United States in response to the reciprocal tariffs placed on its manufacturers. As an example, our recommendation for one of the best couches, the Rose Sofa from Chicago-based custom sofa maker Interior Define is temporarily unavailable due to trade fluctuations borne by the tariffs. We may see more brands and items follow suit as raw materials become prohibitively expensive or altogether unavailable.
While we may see some price increases immediately in anticipation of tariffs, the majority of these will take place a few months after they fully go into effect, 'once existing inventories are cycled through and the tariffed items are now being sold,' says professor Miller. That means that with the White House's current delays, we should see an impact by the summer.
And as for whether to stock up before that time, professor Miller advises proceeding with some nuance: 'Given all the uncertainty about what tariffs will actually be, I would tell folks only to go forward on purchases for something like a smartphone if they were planning on replacing that phone anyway in the next few months. The same applies with items like laptops.'
Long story short, if you were about to buy something you need, go ahead and make the purchase, especially for already pricey items that may be subject to additional price hikes soon. Also shop for those intentional items when you see a meaningful discount; while it's still too early to tell how shopping events later in the year, like Amazon Prime Day, Black Friday and Cyber Monday will ultimately be affected, it's smart to pick up what you truly need if you can get it for a good deal. (We'll continue to track these savings in our ongoing sale coverage.) That said, if you're not actively in the market for a given product, don't panic buy early—even if it's currently discounted.
While we're still waiting to see how drastic and widespread price increases may be in coming months, here are some of the items we're keeping an eye on, and that you may want to consider purchasing now if they need to be replaced:
The back-and-forth over whether smartphones, computers and other technology will be impacted by tariffs means nothing is certain; if you are in the market for a new device, such as the iPhone 15 Pro Max or a new Android phone, you may want to buy it. The same goes for laptops, printers and other electronics like our top-recommended TVs.
According to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, about 75% of all furniture sold in America is produced overseas. If you're in the market for a new desk, bedroom set or living room seating, such as one of the best sofas Forbes Vetted team spent more than a year testing, this is a good time to go for it.
The vast majority of shoes, such as Forbes Vetted reader-favorite Hoka walking shoes, are made overseas, and the price on shoes of all types is likely to rise when tariffs hit and new designs come out. This is also the case for things like men's shorts, crossbody bags, bath towels and other clothing, accessories and textiles we test and recommend.
We regularly cover home appliances, such as whole-house humidifiers, stackable washers and dryers, and other hardware that can be quite expensive even without tariff-induced price hikes. If you have already budgeted for a home appliance, it could be a good idea to buy now before prices rise further.
You can all but count on higher prices on numerous foods and beverages, such as the aforementioned chocolate, coffee and wine subscriptions, but also on other imports like olive oil and flowers.
Contrary to common misconception, tariffs are not paid by foreign countries or foreign companies; they are paid by the company importing goods from overseas or by an agent for the domestic company. In other words, in the case of these recent tariffs, they will be paid for by American businesses.
The money raised goes through the United States Custom and Border Protection agency and becomes federal government revenue. 'Tariff taxes collected are added to the government's revenues, which are then used for education, social programs, military, healthcare spending and more,' says professor Williams.
Some of the costs incurred by those importers are absorbed by the companies affected, but the rest are largely passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. In effect, everyday consumers eventually shoulder some burden of increased prices triggered by tariffs.
A 'recession' is defined as two or more consecutive quarters of decline in economic activity significant enough that the nation's gross domestic product (GDP) shrinks. The types of economic activity tracked include a higher unemployment rate, a slowdown in industrial production, reduced consumer spending and reduced business investment and profit. Some economists warn that the current tariff program may lead to a recession.
'This is what most economists are worried about,' says professor Hafezi. 'If we have rising prices because of tariffs and enter a recession, we could enter a timeframe of stagflation. This is a staggering economy that cannot rebalance because tariffs impose an artificially high rate on prices, and discounting will be minimal because the supply chain will have taken all discounts possible to keep prices down as much as possible. This staggering economy is happening while you have further inflationary elements that dampen economic activity. Furthermore, companies will take multiple quarters to move their supply chains to rebalance production to countries that are not tariffed or are less so. This will take time.'
Bottom line: During times of recession, consumer spending tends to drop, which further slows the economy. As a result, merchandise prices often drop to accommodate that lowered demand, and while cheaper phones, toilet paper and office chairs might seem like a good thing, reduced prices also often mean less profits for retailers, which can cause hiring freezes and layoffs. These only make a potential recession worse and more protracted.