One Year of Tariffs and Laundry Operations (Part 1)

CHICAGO — On April 2, 2025, President Donald Trump signed Executive Order 14257.

This order instituted import duties with countries around the globe to counteract trade barriers faced by U.S. exporters.

He called it “Liberation Day.”

Three days later, tariffs increased 10% for nearly all countries, with higher rates for major trading partners scheduled for a few days beyond that.

Since “Liberation Day” 2025, businesses, including those in and serving the industrial and institutional laundry industry, have been trying to keep track of the changes, the negotiated terms, and the tariff delays to stay ahead of the price points of necessary equipment and materials.

In late February, the U.S. Supreme Court threw another wrinkle into the ongoing tariff saga by upholding a lower court ruling that the president’s use of emergency powers to enact most of the tariffs was not legal.

While businesses wait to see how and when reimbursements for the tariffs collected will unfold, the Trump administration is using different methods to enact the duties.

With the chaos and confusion caused by the on-again, off-again tariff situation, American Laundry News reached out to industry insiders as the one-year anniversary approached to share their viewpoints on the situation.

ASSOCIATION, NETWORK INSIGHTS

Joseph Ricci, president and CEO of TRSA, the association for linen, uniform, and facility services, says that businesses need clarity and predictability to plan investments, manage costs and maintain stability for the customers and communities they serve. Uncertainty around tariffs continues to make long-term sourcing decisions and capital planning more complex for many operators.

“For example, many are diversifying sourcing regions or adopting dual-source strategies to reduce risk and improve flexibility,” he shares. “Operators are also working more closely with suppliers to secure competitive pricing while maintaining high standards for durability, reliability, and ethical manufacturing.”

Ricci goes on to say that while these steps improve resilience, ongoing tariff volatility makes long-term purchasing and investment planning much more challenging.

“These challenges have intensified in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, with new questions surrounding whether companies can pursue refunds for tariffs paid under last year’s tariff regime,” he says.

“We know how important this issue is to our members and their customers, which is why TRSA recently hosted a webinar with KPMG on tariffs and cross-border supply chain considerations for textile goods. We discussed the current policy landscape around tariffs, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision, as well as short-term cost mitigation strategies and longer-term compliance and sourcing planning.

“TRSA will continue to monitor the situation closely and advocate for the economic and regulatory certainty our members need.”

Jeff Landry is executive director of CSCNetwork, which aids the growth of its membership of independent uniform and linen rental companies through purchasing, networking, and training.

“Based on what I know, the current tariff system has been deemed ‘unconstitutional,’ and it came to an immediate end,” he says. “In its place, the administration has put in an alternate 10% flat tariff on all goods.

“There has also been a ruling that collected tariffs should be returned, which is still a point of confusion at this time. It is going to cause a cascade of issues as companies attempt to get refunds on the tariffs and then tie it back to the goods it sold and the amount of tariff that was passed on. There is an additional layer of refunds that could go back to the final end-user customer. That is a lot of layers to calculate.”

Landry says that before the Supreme Court ruling, the tariffs increased the price of goods by an average of about 8%.

“This is treated like any other cost increase,” he points out. It is factored into the laundry’s cost of goods and passed along to the final customer.

“The concern continues to be the yo-yoing of the amounts of tariffs and the disjointed administration of the tariff. There were initial concerns about the start of the tariff. Was the date the ship date or the received date at port? These did change during the implementation process.”

Laundries, like everyone else, just need to know what the cost and availability of product is, and consistency is the key, Landry says.

“Reasonably increased costs can be dealt with by normal inflationary processes,” he says. “Inconsistent increases cause concern and confusion.

“(The future is) unknown. Current tariffs are temporarily in place, so the question will turn to Congress to see if they approve a more permanent ongoing tariff. There continues to be questions about tariffs that went into place before 2025, going back for years. Are those still legal? Will those change? What is the differentiator between 2025 tariffs and existing ones?”

Landry points out that tariffs work as an additional tax on goods, and everyone is impacted equally.

“The pressure falls to the suppliers and their individual supply chains,” he says. “They are forced to evaluate their countries of origin and the diversity of their supply chain. Competition between suppliers is integral to keeping prices as competitive as possible and keeping costs in check.”

Come back Thursday for a textile viewpoint from George Courey’s president/CEO.