Source: Supply Chain Dive
Date: 10th September 2026 

New company payment data shows tariff costs remain more than twice pre-2025 levels, while midsize U.S. businesses continue maintaining significant international supplier relationships.

Higher U.S. tariffs are placing significant cost pressure on businesses, but new data suggests companies have not responded by rapidly abandoning international sourcing.

Research based on actual payment transactions from midsize U.S. companies shows customs duty payments remain at historically elevated levels despite easing from their 2025 peak.

An index tracking customs payments, with October 2024 set at 100, climbed to 314 in October 2025. It subsequently declined but remained at 222 in June 2026, meaning tariff payments were still more than twice their pre-2025 level.

Tariff burden rises across industries. The increase is not confined to a small number of sectors.

Across the industries examined, tariff payments as a share of company inflows increased between the April 2023–March 2024 and April 2025–March 2026 periods.

Apparel manufacturing recorded the highest burden, rising from approximately 3.3% to 5.2%. Machinery manufacturing increased from around 0.5% to 2.0%, while furniture manufacturing rose from approximately 0.7% to 1.8%.

Computer and electronics manufacturing, retail, wholesale trade and food manufacturing also recorded higher tariff burdens. Across the overall sample, the tariff burden more than doubled.

Midsize companies can be particularly exposed because they generally have less purchasing power, tighter margins and fewer financial resources than large multinational businesses.

International sourcing proves more persistent. One of the more significant findings, however, is what businesses have not done.

Despite substantially higher tariff costs, international payments by midsize U.S. companies have remained relatively resilient.

Since 2025, payments to foreign counterparties have grown more slowly than domestic payments, but the gap has generally remained around 6 to 12 percentage points. Researchers suggest the relative stability could indicate that some businesses are delaying major supply-chain decisions while waiting for greater clarity around future trade policy.

The findings highlight an important reality of global sourcing: supplier networks cannot always be changed quickly simply because tariffs increase.

Established suppliers may provide specialised capabilities, quality, scale or pricing that cannot easily be replicated elsewhere. Moving production or sourcing can also require supplier qualification, new contracts, tooling, testing and changes to transportation and inventory strategies.

What This Means

• For businesses facing higher duties, the decision is increasingly broader than simply whether to continue importing.
• Companies may need to compare the total landed cost and supply-chain performance of existing suppliers against alternative sourcing options, taking into account tariffs, transportation costs, lead times, inventory requirements and reliability.
• Some businesses may shift sourcing closer to the U.S., while others may maintain established international suppliers despite higher duties because changing the supply chain would create greater costs or operational risks.

Tariffs can change quickly. Supply chains usually cannot.

The latest data demonstrates that higher duties are increasing costs across a wide range of industries, but international sourcing relationships remain relatively resilient.

For businesses, this reinforces the importance of looking beyond tariff rates alone. The right sourcing decision should consider the total cost, reliability and resilience of the complete supply chain.

Rather than reacting to each policy change individually, companies can benefit from continuously evaluating sourcing locations, transportation options, inventory strategies and customs exposure to understand where adjustments genuinely improve long-term supply-chain performance.