Until businesses gain a clearer picture of the administration's trade strategy and timeline, the cycle of uncertainty is likely to persist, keeping supply chains fragile, costs unpredictable, and decisions on hold.

Without certainty, it's impossible to make the difficult decisions needed to mitigate any potential impacts from tariffs.

When volumes slow at ports, the ripple effects are felt everywhere, from longshoremen getting fewer hours working on docks, to truck drivers who suddenly don't have any cargo to move.

De minimis imports have surged dramatically since 2018, with China accounting for nearly two-thirds of 2.3 billion duty-free shipments between 2018 and 2021.

The infrastructure to educate and entice manufacturing workers simply doesn't exist, while the Trump administration has sought to deport the very people who would want those jobs the most.

Port of Los Angeles executive director Gene Seroka said "essentially shipments out of China for major retailers and manufacturers have ceased."

Any number of obstacles could throw a relief mission off course, and mitigating those potential roadblocks takes equal parts preparation and an ability to recalibrate on the fly.

Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted fears that the "chaotic approach" to trade could enable corporations to increase prices "regardless of whether goods are actually subject to tariffs."

The path toward equity hasn't been an easy one for women in supply chain and logistics, and even today, it's still very much a work in progress.

Retailers that have spent years trying to move their manufacturing out of China have suddenly been left in a world of uncertainty.