Consumers could find empty store shelves due to tariffs, CEOs warn

Shortages could also raise consumer prices even more

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

April 25, 2025

Key takeaways

• Retail executives warn tariffs could cause shortages and higher prices, with signs already showing in decreased manufacturing orders and shipping from China, impacting supply chains and leading to potential empty store shelves.

• China is resisting trade negotiations, contradicting President Trumps claims of dialogue, and key sectors like apparel and footwear, heavily reliant on Chinese imports, may experience the first noticeable shortages.

• Prices on everyday products are expected to rise, as companies like Procter & Gamble predict tariff-related cost increases of up to $1.5 billion annually, potentially driving consumer price hikes of around 2%.

Tariffs may not just raise prices for consumers. Published reports say some retail CEOs have warned President Trump that they could eventually lead to shortages and empty store shelves. Shortages, of course, would add to already high prices.

According to CNBC, there has already been a drop-off in manufacturing orders from China and a decline in Chinese freight vessel bookings two events that dont bode well for the supply chain.

While some nations have indicated a willingness to bargain, China appears to be playing hardball. After Trump told Time Magazine that the U.S. and China have opened trade talks, the Chinese Foreign Ministry contradicted the president, issuing a statement saying there have been no trade talks between the two countries.

CNBC suggests apparel and footwear could forecast what happens next. The U.S. gets than half of its footwear from China and more than a third of its apparel. Some executives believe thats where consumers might first find shortages.

These prohibitively high new tariff rates operate as an import ban, Steve Lamar, president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, told the business news network.

Meanwhile, other business executives are warning that prices will rise on a wide range of products if there is no set of sweeping trade agreements, particularly with China. These are products consumers purchase every day.

Higher prices, too

Procter & Gamble, which makes Pambers, Tide and Bounty paper towels mostly overseas told Wall Street analysts this week that it expects tariffs will add up to $1.5 billion to its annual costs, which will may lead to higher prices in the second half of this year.

P&G Chief Financial Officer Andre Schulten said the company will try to hold prices down through cost cuts and improvements in productivity. But when pressed, Shulten said the tariffs could raise consumer prices by as much as 2%.

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