Five months after President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs took effect, small U.S. companies are reporting sharp increases in input costs that are forcing them to raise prices or cut hiring. Manufacturers dependent on imported steel and aluminum now face levies of 50%, while retailers stocking everyday goods from coffee cups to puzzle sets say supply costs have climbed 20% or more since January. An analysis cited by business daily El Economista puts the cumulative tariff bill for small firms at $202 billion. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce counts roughly 236,000 small importers and estimates the duties will add an average $856,000 to each company’s annual expenses. The average effective tariff rate on consumers has risen to 18.6%, up from 2.4% at the start of the year, according to Yale’s Budget Lab. The latest consumer-price index shows inflation running 2.7% above year-earlier levels. Goldman Sachs expects the burden of the duties to shift increasingly from importers to households, projecting that consumers will shoulder about two-thirds of the costs in coming months. Oxford Economics warns that real disposable income for the bottom fifth of U.S. households could drop by as much as 3%, while the top income quintile sees a comparable gain. Critics in Congress and labor groups say the levies are eroding purchasing power for working families and strangling Main Street investment. The White House counters that the tariffs are necessary to ‘re-write the rules of global trade’ and expand market access for U.S. exporters, arguing they will ultimately strengthen the economy.