A new study has found that price increases implemented by companies during tit-for-tat trade escalation between the U.S. and China far exceeded the levels that the duties themselves would have justified.
The report from researchers at the marketing services agency Growth Bite found that prices rose significantly during the six-week period in April and May when both tensions and tariffs peaked—“weeks before any tariffed goods could reach store shelves.”
Lead researcher Adomas Šulcas told Newsweek that the timing and magnitude of the price hikes provided “compelling evidence that retailers used the announcement as a pricing opportunity beyond what supply-side pressures alone would predict.”
Why It Matters
Many companies have this year said they will be raising prices as a direct result of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs.
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