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The Tariff Pricing Hangover Distributors Must Fix Before 2027

Surcharges and price increases that were never meant to be permanent may still be sitting in distributors’ price books. It may be time to revisit what still holds up — and what doesn’t.

October 6, 2026

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Increase in cargo transshipment volumes. Increased transportation volumes and income growth. Increasing imports and exports, economic development. High shipping rates. Production rise.

Somewhere in your price book is a line that reads something like “tariff surcharge 6%.” It went in fast, sometime in spring 2025, when a new round of tariffs landed and margin was on the line and nobody debated it much. It was the obvious move, and it worked. Eighteen months later, that surcharge is probably still there, largely untouched, while the tariff that justified it has been through the Supreme Court, the Court of International Trade and a refund process that’s already returned tens of billions of dollars to the companies that paid it. Your surcharge just didn’t get the memo. Not…

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