The punitive tariffs on U.S. imports proposed by President-elect Donald Trump could add up to an amount that exceeds profits for some companies, according to an analyst at PwC.

“What we're finding is that many companies would actually experience 400%-plus increases in tariffs, with larger companies having new tariff bills that actually exceed several billions of dollars per year… frequently the tariff increases are larger than the company's current annual profits,” said Brett Cayot, principal of U.S. operations transformation at consulting and professional services firm PwC.

“These realizations are raising a lot of questions, like, ‘How can I change my supply base?’ ‘Can I move manufacturing?’ ‘Should I refine my overall supply chain strategy?’"

Cayot was speaking at a December 16, post-election, 2025 outlook webcast held by PwC, entitled, “The Road Ahead: What's Next for Business Under a New Administration.”

Cayot went on to say that PwC believes its clients and other companies will shift their supply chain footprints. “We've already witnessed this major change in recent years as evidenced by Mexico becoming the largest trading partner with the U.S., over China, some of which was probably driven by the 2018 tariffs on China by Trump,” Cayot said. “However, at the moment, companies are really challenged. They know that they need to do something; they just don't know what because of all of the uncertainty and open questions.”

Uncertainty regarding whether Trump will actually impose the tariffs he has proposed, or whether they’re just the opening salvo in a range of complex trade negotiations the co-author of “The Art of the Deal” appears to have invoked, is a matter of intense speculation. 

In an opinion article for MSNBC on December 1, Republican strategist Susan Del Percio advised those wary of Donald Trump's tariff plan not to worry about it being enforced as the President-elect "consistently talks a big game."

Read More: What Could New U.S. Trade Tariffs Mean for Global Supply Chains?

However, the need to anticipate and reorganize ahead of new tariffs, and as soon as they come into force, has left U.S. businesses facing a scenario in which a 60% tariff on goods from China, or 25% on Mexico or Canada, would increase tariffs by over $1.2 trillion annually before the application of duty reduction processes such as duty drawback, PwC estimates. 

“If I'm an executive and I'm thinking about moving my manufacturing, I need to be confident these tariffs are going to last at least through the Trump term, if not longer. For example, when we look at the China tariffs in 2018, while they're generally still in place, Canada and Mexico received exceptions to the 2018 steel and aluminum tariffs after only about 14 months,” Cayot pointed out.

Trump’s office did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

During the webcast, seven PwC analysts discussed how executives can prepare for the incoming administration, as well as the top priorities early in President-elect Trump’s administration, including extending the 2017 tax cuts, easing regulations, boosting energy production and implementing new tariffs. The webcast came on the back of PwC’s report, “Pulse Survey: Executive takes on Election,” which was released in October.