How is tariff uncertainty affecting businesses?

18/11/2025 14 min
How is tariff uncertainty affecting businesses?

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Episode Synopsis

How is tariff uncertainty affecting the outlooks of small and medium-sized businesses, and how will this impact consumers? Boston Fed Research Director Egon Zakrajšek is part of a team at the Bank investigating this critical, ongoing question. He discusses how the team partnered with a survey research firm to reach out to hundreds of businesses for insights. And he shares key takeaways from the team’s findings, including the potential impacts of tariffs on inflation and consumer prices. Egon Zakrajšek is an executive vice president and the director of research at the Boston Fed. Visit bostonfed.org to find his team’s three Current Policy Perspectives reports on tariffs: “Who Will Pay for Tariffs? Businesses’ Expectations about Costs and Prices,” “Effects of Tariff Uncertainty on the Outlook of Small and Medium-sized Businesses,” and “Small and Medium-sized Businesses’ Expectations Concerning Tariffs, Costs, and Prices.”  For more interviews and analysis of the economy in New England and nationwide, visit BostonFed.org/SixHundredAtlantic.aspx. Subscribe to our email list to stay updated on new episodes.