Who Wins, Who Loses
Tariffs create winners and losers. Here's the scorecard — with names, numbers, and dollars.
Winner Market Cap Gains
📈$48B
Steel, aluminum, appliance stocks
Consumer Cost Increase
📉$230B
Annual higher prices passed to buyers
Lobbying Spending
🏛️$680M
Tariff-related lobbying in 2025
Farm Export Losses
🌾$27B
From retaliatory tariffs
📈 The Winners
US Steel (X)
Stock up 42% since tariff announcements. Revenue up $2.1B from protected pricing.
Nucor (NUE)
Largest US steelmaker. Market cap gained $8.2B. Domestic steel prices up 38%.
Century Aluminum (CENX)
Stock tripled. Restarted idle smelters as imported aluminum became expensive.
Whirlpool
Washer tariffs let them raise prices $50-100 per unit. Revenue up $400M.
Customs Brokers
Industry revenue up 60%. Every tariff change means more paperwork and fees.
Trade Lawyers
Tariff litigation and compliance consulting booming. Billable hours up 3x.
Lobbying Firms (K Street)
Tariff-related lobbying spending hit $680M in 2025 — a record.
Domestic Appliance Makers
Protected from Asian competition. Prices rose but so did margins.
📉 The Losers
Walmart (WMT)
80% of goods imported. Estimated $4.5B in added costs, passed to shoppers.
Target (TGT)
Warned tariffs would raise prices on 'thousands of items.' Stock down 28%.
Amazon Sellers
3P sellers face 30-54% tariffs on Chinese inventory. 120,000+ sellers impacted.
Auto Dealers
25% tariff adds $3,000-$10,000 per imported vehicle. Inventory costs soaring.
American Farmers
Retaliatory tariffs cost $27B in lost exports. Soybean exports to China fell 75%.
Small Importers
Can't absorb costs like big corps. 23% of small importers considering closure.
American Consumers
Average household pays $1,800+/yr in hidden tariff taxes. Lowest earners hit hardest.
Construction Industry
Steel & lumber tariffs added $7,500-$10,000 to the cost of a new home.
🕸️ The Tariff Industrial Complex
An entire industry profits from tariff complexity — regardless of whether tariffs help or hurt the economy.
Akin Gump Strauss
Top tariff lobbying firm
$42M in trade-related lobbying (2025)
Hogan Lovells
International trade law
Trade practice revenue up 280%
Wiley Rein
Petitioning for tariffs
Represents domestic steel & aluminum producers
King & Spalding
Trade remedy cases
Anti-dumping & countervailing duty specialists
US Customs Brokers Assn.
Compliance industry
Broker fees up 60% since 2024
Trade compliance software
Tariff tracking SaaS
Industry grew from $1.2B to $3.1B