Overview: With tariffs shifting faster than spreadsheets can keep up, U.S. distributors need a better way to track what imported goods actually cost. This article breaks down the current tariff landscape and shows how Sage 100 landed cost functionality helps distributors capture true per-item costs, protect margins, and stay ready for whatever comes next.
Every dollar in untracked import costs is a dollar straight off your margin. After all, a cost you don’t track is a cost you ultimately absorb.
Reality check: If you read that last sentence and thought, “Oh man, I really have to figure out what’s going on with tariffs,” this article is for you.
Consider this your lightning-fast crash course to today’s tariffs. We’ll go over what the 2025 tariff laws are, recent 2026 developments to those laws, and how you can stay ahead of tariffs, even when you’re unsure what your tariffs will be tomorrow.
What Are All the Tariffs Right Now?
President Trump has imposed tariffs under four separate laws:
- Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 allows the U.S. president to restrict imports or negotiate with trading partners if the imports “threaten to impair” U.S. national security. Steel, aluminum, and cars are already subject to Section 232 tariffs. Pending investigations may add semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, drones, and other sectors to this list.
- Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 grants the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) authority to investigate and enforce U.S. trade rights, including the imposition of tariffs. Presidents Trump and Biden both invoked Section 301 for tariffs on China. Specific Section 301 tariffs must be extended or ended every four years. More tariffs may be added under this umbrella soon.
- IEEPA (The International Emergency Economic Powers Act) empowers the U.S. president to regulate economic transactions during a national emergency. This is the tariff law that the Supreme Court reversed with its February 2026 decision.
- Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 empowers the U.S. president to impose up to a 15% “global” tariff for a maximum of 150 days to address balance-of-payments problems. Congress can vote to extend this timeline. This is the tariff law that President Trump invoked after the Supreme Court reversed the IEEPA tariffs.
Each of those four laws operates independently, with different expiration timelines, different product scopes, and different legal vulnerabilities. That complexity is exactly what makes the current tariff situation so difficult to plan around.
How the Tariffs Affect U.S. Distributors
In short, U.S. distributors will still be responsible for many tariffs in the long run and should expect an even more uncertain tariff situation through the first half of 2026.
As of the time of this writing (late February 2026), global leaders are unsure about how their rates will change as a result of the Supreme Court’s decision on IEEPA tariffs and the new Section 122 tariffs.
And remember: those are only two of the four tariff laws. Though the IEEPA tariffs have been reversed and the Section 122 tariffs are likely to expire in late July 2026, the Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs remain fully in effect for distributors and other businesses importing goods into the United States.
Plus, in the coming months, President Trump may also add more items under the Section 301 umbrella that were previously under IEEPA.
What about refunds?
After the Supreme Court ruling, some Senate members introduced legislation requiring full refunds, with interest, of the money collected from IEEPA tariffs. If that legislation is enacted into law (and that’s a big “if”), the refunds would go to businesses. At this point, though, there’s no clear mechanism for that to happen.
Why Distributors Need to Stay Ahead of Tariff Costs
We started this article talking about how critically important it is to accurately track your landed costs right now. Let’s talk about why.
Tariff rates have been a big unknown for a while. In response, many distributors used spreadsheets last year to calculate rough estimates of their landed costs.
But rough estimates can only serve you for so long. Over time, continually estimating your landed costs can lead to margin erosion, reactive pricing decisions, and inaccurate inventory valuations.
If you have accurate, up-to-date numbers on your shifting costs, you can switch to a proactive pricing model, understand the true cost of your inventory, and protect your margins.
How Sage 100 Landed Cost Can Help
You already know that the more complicated a spreadsheet gets, the more likely it is to contain formula errors and inaccurate data. Spreadsheet errors in tariff calculations can also create compliance exposure, and that’s not a risk worth taking. If you’re using Sage 100, you can streamline your landed cost calculations with the landed cost feature. Powered by the integration between the Purchase Order module and the Inventory Management module, landed cost functionality lets you allocate additional costs, such as freight, tariffs, and more, directly to inventory items during goods receipt.
It reveals true per-item costs beyond invoices, right in your Sage 100 system data and reports. That means you can gain better insight into your pricing and profitability options as today’s tariff situation continues to evolve.
How to set up landed costs in Sage 100
Already have Purchase Order and Inventory Management? Enable landed costs using the checkbox under the Line Entry tab on the Purchase Order Options screen. Then, define your landed cost types such as freight, duty, and handling fees, each with its own
calculation method (quantity, weight, cost, volume). Each landed cost type should be linked to the correct GL account for accurate tracking and allocation.
Need a hand setting up your landed costs? We’ll work with you directly to get it configured correctly in your system. Reach out anytime.
Stay Ahead of the Tariff Curve
Although there’s still a lot of uncertainty surrounding tariffs, one thing is clear: tariffs aren’t going away anytime soon, and their ongoing legal uncertainty makes flexibility essential.
The distributors who win will be the ones who know their numbers.
Using Sage 100’s landed cost functionality can help U.S. distributors ensure accurate inventory valuation on the balance sheet, make better pricing decisions based on true cost, and respond faster and with less stress when tariff rates change.
It also provides a crystal-clear audit trail of tariff costs, which is essential if refunds become available. Unlike spreadsheets, it creates a verifiable record you can actually use.
Not sure whether your current setup is capturing the full picture of your landed costs? See What You’re Missing in Your Current Setup
Citations
TIME magazine. “What the Supreme Court Tariff Ruling Means for Households, Businesses, and the World” article. 2026. https://time.com/7380732/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-ruling-ieepa-refunds-trade-deals-explainer/
Marketplace. “Trump Used Another Law to Impose 15% Global Tariffs. What’s Different Now?” article. 2026. https://www.marketplace.org/story/2026/02/23/whats-different-under-trumps-new-15-global-tariff
Investopedia. “What Is a Tariff and Why Are They Important?” article. 2025. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/tariff.asp
BBC. “What Tariffs Has Trump Announced and Why?” article. 2025. https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cn93e12rypgo
Avalara. “What Are Tariffs? How Do They Work?” article. 2025. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2025/03/what-are-tariffs.html
Avalara. “The Difference Between IEEPA Tariffs, Section 232 Tariffs, and Section 301 Tariffs” article. 2025. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2025/08/the-difference-between-ieepa-tariffs-section-232-tariffs-and-section-301-tariffs.html
Avalara. “The De Minimis Exemption Is Ending: Is Your Business Ready?” article. 2025. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2024/11/de-minimis-exemption-changes-coming.html
Avalara. “How to Handle US-China Tariffs and the End of De Minimis” article. 2025. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2025/02/how-to-handle-us-china-tariffs-de-minimis.html
Avalara. Chips, Drugs, and Steel — How to Prepare for Trump Tariffs” article. 2025. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2025/01/how-to-prepare-for-trump-tariffs.html
Avalara. “Reciprocal Tariffs Explained: Impact on Your Business” article. 2025. https://www.avalara.com/blog/en/north-america/2025/07/reciprocal-tariffs-explained.html
Harvard Business Review. “6 Short-Term Strategies for Doing Business in a Trade War” article. 2025. https://hbr.org/2025/06/6-short-term-strategies-for-doing-business-in-a-trade-war
USA TODAY. “If Supreme Court Rules Against Trump Tariffs, Here’s What You Can Expect” article. 2025. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2025/09/17/what-to-expect-supreme-court-trump-tariffs/86075784007/
Harvard Business Review. “HBR Roundtable: Adapting to the New Reality of Tariffs” panel discussion transcript. 2025. https://hbr.org/2025/04/hbr-roundtable-adapting-to-the-new-reality-of-tariffs
