The companies that deal with the early stages of President Donald Trump’s rates are looking for ways of approving increasing costs to consumers, according to a Federal Reserve report on Wednesday.
As Trump ordered against taxes on US imports and upper tariffs on Chinese products, the Fed Beige book indicated how they plan to proceed. Companies reported that they received suppliers notices about the increase in costs, and sought to find ways not to absorb increases while observing uncertainty about the ability to pass them to customers.
“Most of the districts indicated that companies expected a high growth of the costs of inputs resulting from the rates,” the report said. “Many companies have already received notices from suppliers that costs would increase.”
In general terms, the report, which comes out every seven weeks, characterized economic growth as “little changed” from the March 5 report, although he pointed out that “uncertainty about international commercial policy was widespread in all 12 Fed districts.
The prices generally increased during the period, which included the announcement of the “Day of Liberation” of Trump April 2 of the Manta Rates. Employment was “little changed” in the midst of the fall of personnel in government work.
“Companies reported add tariff surcharges or shorten price horizons to take into account uncertain commercial policy,” the report said. “Most companies hoped to go through additional customers costs. However, there were reports on margin compression amid higher costs, since demand remained warm in some sectors, especially for consumer -oriented companies.”
In the New York area, companies reported the increase in prices, particularly in food and insurance, together with construction materials. Manufacturers and distributors said they are already adding surcharges due to shipments.
There were also signs of problems in the commercial dispute with Canada. Tourists are reserving less hotel rooms in New York City and at least one technology company reported that it lost commercial contacts in Canada.
“The prospects for companies in the services sector worsened markedly, with contacts anticipating a strong decrease in activity in the coming months. Companies in the service sector reported a great setback in planned investment,” the report said.
The report also indicated the impact that the Government Efficiency Department led by Elon Musk has had on employment in the Washington region, DC. Dege has tried to recover the federal workforce, dismissing thousands and offering purchases to others.
While the employment image in general was “unchanged” for the period, “many federal government workers were dismissed or put on administrative license in recent weeks.”
“These cuts to the federal workforce have impacted companies throughout the district. In addition, federal contractors have fired workers in response to expense cuts. For example, a research organization based in the DC region dismissed workers because the contracts are canceled. Similarly, a Headnancy account of Northern Virginia reduced in 25 percent due to half of its contracts report.
In other parts of the report, the service organizations that depend on the government’s support observed difficulties since the White House began to sacrifice the agencies that receive federal help. The report specifically cited food banks in New York as cuts in programs and personnel.
“Contacts in non -profit organizations and other community organizations expressed a significant concern about the future of federal support and services, creating challenges in staff, strategy and planning,” the report said.
