“We have looked at certain product categories and said, ‘Do we need to bring so much in right now?’ But these are temporary decisions,” said Lobo. “It’s not like I can just move products and create a new factory.” He added that while he’s “maintaining” the supply chain he has in effect today, “if we are routing product from Europe to America to then send to Latin America, we’re going to try to send it directly from Europe to Latin America,” he added. “Hopefully at the end of this 90-day pause, things will get better.”
On the other end of the scale, there’s Brian Baker, who’s CEO of Sentry Equipment, a $70 million-a-year manufacturer of sampling and process equipment based in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, who recently lost a $300,000 order from a Chinese customer because of the tariff war. “We rushed the order but they controlled the logistics and couldn’t find a place to get it out in time,” said Baker, noting that some U.S. customers have canceled orders because of the uncertainty. “The Administration keeps changing the rules,” he said. “This gives everybody a chance to catch their breath but, 90 days from now, we’ll still have uncertainty.”
Suzanne Clark, CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, says most of her members are optimistic that good times lie ahead. “Business was ready for a pro-business president,” she said. “It just gets cloudy because of the tariff uncertainty, like driving through the fog. You have to pull over until you know where you’re going.”
