Are You Eligible?

Two questions tell you if you qualify.

Did you pay the tariff yourself? Refunds go to whoever paid Customs directly. If your supplier paid the tariff and sold the goods to you, your supplier qualifies, not you. The next move is a conversation with your supplier about whether their refund affects your pricing.

Was the tariff an IEEPA tariff? Eligible tariffs are commonly called “fentanyl,” “trafficking,” “reciprocal,” and “baseline” tariffs, plus some on goods from Brazil and India. Several other categories, such as those listed below, are not in scope:

• Section 232. Duties of 10% to 50% on steel, aluminum, copper, and related products, applied for national security reasons.
• Section 301. Duties on Chinese goods imposed in 2018 over technology and intellectual property practices.
• Section 201. Temporary safeguard measures under the Trade Act of 1974 used when an import surge causes serious injury to a U.S. industry.
• Anti-dumping duties. Duties on imports priced below fair market value.

If you are not sure which type you paid, your customs broker can tell you.

The Four Steps to Take Now

Talk to your customs broker first. They will be your front line for the new system. Then:

1. Update your contact information with Customs. CBP Form 5106 is the form. Make sure your email is current.
2. Set up your ACE Portal account. Register here. New accounts take 3 to 4 weeks. Start this first.
3. Sign up for direct deposit. Refunds come electronically. Enroll in ACH here.
4. Have your customs broker check your records for excluded shipments. A few categories are not in the initial refund pool, including drawback claims, pending protests, anti-dumping cases the Department of Commerce is still working through, and shipments not in the ACE Portal.

A tax note: how a refund is treated depends on how you originally recorded the duty expense. Consult your tax professional before the refund posts to your account.

The official source is the Customs IEEPA Duty Refunds page.

The post The Tariff Refund Window Is Open. Here Is What Small Business Importers Need to Do. appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | The Capital Readiness Experts.

The Pricing-Profit Disconnect

During this period, the net percentage of businesses raising prices and their reported net profit trends moved in opposite directions. The years with the highest pricing activity (2022-2024) coincided with periods when more businesses reported declining profits than improving profits. Conversely, as pricing activity moderated in 2025, profit trends began stabilizing.

This pattern suggests that pricing increases alone don’t guarantee sector-wide profitability improvements. Customer response and market dynamics effectively constrain pricing power, even during inflationary periods.

Behind the Disconnect

The available data suggests that businesses faced multiple challenges during periods of declining profits. In July 2025, businesses citing declining earnings identified “increased costs” and “sales volume” as primary factors, indicating that pricing adjustments alone were insufficient to address underlying profitability pressures.

Labor quality continues to be identified as a significant concern, ranking as the top business problem for 21% of respondents in July 2025. This suggests that operational challenges beyond pricing decisions affect business performance.

The 5.5-year dataset demonstrates that even when businesses had apparent pricing power during crisis periods, overall sector profitability remained negative, indicating systematic constraints on the effectiveness of pricing strategies alone.

Looking Forward

Small businesses appear to be adapting by focusing on operational improvements rather than continued price adjustments. As potential tariff policies loom, this historical data suggests that companies may need strategies beyond pricing to achieve sustainable profitability improvements.

Ready to navigate this complex business environment with confidence? Schedule a strategic consultation to discuss how these trends impact your specific industry and growth plans.

The post Small Business Pricing Strategy: What 5.5 Years of Data Reveals About Profitability appeared first on Strategic Thinktank, Inc. | The Capital Readiness Experts.