Tariff Payments by Midsize Firms Remain Elevated Despite Recent Decline

The JPMorgan Chase Institute has released a report on tariff payments made by midsize U.S. companies, finding that while they have pulled back from their October 2025 high, they remain more than double pre-2025 levels.

According to the report, 'Tracking International Payments: How Are Midsize Firms Responding to Continued Tariff Pressure?', tariff payments by midsize firms roughly tripled over the course of 2025 following the announcement of near-universal tariffs on April 2 of that year, peaking in October. By June 2026, the most recent month in the data, these payments were down about a third from the October peak but still more than double where they stood before 2025.

The report found that international payments by midsize firms have grown more slowly than domestic payments since 2025, with a gap of 6 to 12 percentage points persisting between the two. The authors attribute this to uncertainty causing firms to delay strategic supply-chain decisions rather than react in real time, compounded by several-month lags between when goods are imported and when payment is made.

At the industry level, the report found that tariff burdens rose across every sector examined, with apparel manufacturers and leather and allied product manufacturers facing the heaviest burdens, each now spending roughly 5% of inflows on tariffs. Food manufacturing saw the largest proportional increase of any industry, with its tariff burden growing more than sevenfold from a low base.