The tariff hikes may force US retailers to raise prices. Some have reached out to suppliers to look for ways to reduce costs. However, it is not clear how the tariffs will affect prices on imports from China, such as luggage, furniture, bicycles and vacuums.

Walmart indicated a possible price hike for the products it sells in order to offset the impact of the additional tariffs the US has imposed on Chinese goods. Warehouse club operator Costco is looking to accelerate shipments before certain tariffs go into effect.

US retailers depend heavily on China in their supply chains, as China accounts for about 41 per cent of all apparel, 72 per cent of footwear, and 84 per cent of travel goods imported into the United States. Duties on US imports of these consumer products from China already represent more than 22 per cent of all tariffs the United States collects from all countries on all products. These duties fall on US workers, US consumers, and US companies -- not China. Over 12,000 US apparel and textiles stores, which have about $40 billion of annual revenue, would be at risk because of possible new tariffs. The US retail industry has already lost more than 3,000 stores, or more than five per cent in the first quarter of 2019.