Effects of Tariff Uncertainty on the Outlook of Small and Medium-sized Businesses

Philippe Andrade, Alexander Dietrich, Sophie Handley, John Leer, Raphael Schoenle, Jenny Tang and Egon Zakrajšek ()

No 2025-12, Current Policy Perspectives from Federal Reserve Bank of Boston

Abstract: A large body of research demonstrates that uncertainty affects many dimensions of firms’ decisions, from investment and hiring to pricing and profitability. To gain a better understanding of how uncertainty induced by shifting trade policy shapes the behavior of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the authors surveyed decision-makers at SMBs. The survey, administered by Morning Consult, was conducted in three waves: in December 2024, February 2025, and late April 2025. Each wave contained a nationally representative sample of about 600 SMBs.

Keywords: business expectations; surveys; tariffs; uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C83 D22 D81 F13 F40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 6
Date: 2025-09-05
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-iaf and nep-mac
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