Many U.S. businesses are facing a dilemma of whether to pay more to ship from China at the current tariff rate of 30%, or wait in the hope that the Trump administration will lower the tariffs further.

At the end of the day, the brunt of the tariffs will fall on US consumers, especially lower-income ones who rely on relatively inexpensive products from China. Now, Americans can expect longer wait times and higher prices, trade experts told CNN.

The president has backtracked repeatedly on his tariff policies, creating a whiplash with downsides and few clear benefits so far.