What Finance Teams Should Do After April 2026 Tariff

On April 2, 2026, the Trump government raised tariff exposure for companies importing pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, or copper. New actions landed on top of an already dense duty structure, and bills tripled through 2025 before these additions arrived.

This guide covers the rates announced on April 2, the steps your finance team should take this month, how tariff stacking raises costs across expense categories, and how to adjust your forecasts when tariff policy keeps shifting.

In brief:

• On April 2, 2026, executive orders imposed 100% tariffs on patented pharmaceuticals under Section 232. Pharma importers from the EU, Japan, Korea, and Switzerland/Liechtenstein face a 15% rate instead.
• Companies that paid IEEPA reciprocal tariffs between April 2025 and February 2026 may be eligible for refunds through CBP's CAPE portal. Phase 1 is expected to open by April 20, 2026.
• Tariff stacking is common: a single imported component can face Section 232, Section 301, and IEEPA replacement surcharge layers simultaneously. Auditing HTS codes by country of origin is the first step in mapping real tariff exposure.
• JPMorgan projects the business-absorbed share of tariff costs to drop from 80% to 20% as companies raise prices this year, meaning consumers will bear a much larger portion of these costs going forward.
• Forecasting now requires at least three scenarios. Present ranges are tied to scenarios rather than single-point estimates. They are updated monthly, since quarterly updates are not fast enough when tariff policy shifts repeatedly within a single year.

What the April 2, 2026 tariffs actually changed

Two major tariff actions were announced on April 2, 2026, each targeting a different set of imports. The first imposed a pharma tariff regime on patented pharmaceuticals and their active ingredients, with a 120-day implementation window for large companies and 180 days for smaller ones.

EU-, Japan-, Korea-, and Switzerland/Liechtenstein-based pharma face a lower 15% rate; imports from the United Kingdom are subject to a separate, unspecified lower rate under the recently concluded U.S.-UK pharmaceutical agreement.

The second action on metal tariffs strengthened Section 232 tariffs with a new tiered structure. Articles made entirely or almost entirely of these metals carry a 50% duty on full value. Derivative articles substantially made of these metals face 25%, while certain metal-intensive industrial equipment and electrical grid equipment will pay 15% through 2027.

Products with a metal content of 15% or less are no longer subject to Section 232, and products manufactured abroad that use 100% American steel, aluminum, or copper pay a lower rate of 10%. With these rate changes now in effect, the immediate question for most finance teams is where to focus first.

How import duties are increasing business costs

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce characterized the current tariff structure as a $200B tax, based on more than 236,000 small-business importers collectively bringing in over $868 billion in goods.

That figure assumes import volumes stay flat, which they haven't. Payments to China by companies with under 500 employees fell from late-2024 levels, reflecting active supply chain diversification, but diversification doesn't remove the tariff burden from your income statement.

The cost increases show up across nearly every expense category, and some of the biggest impacts hit input costs that many mid-sized companies cannot easily replace.

A few categories stand out:

• Steel: Tariff rates increased sharply, with the April 2026 tiered rules now determining how that rate applies to finished and derivative products.
• Copper wire and cable: Prices have come under pressure after copper was subject to Section 232.
• Canadian softwood lumber: Duties increased sharply, affecting construction and wood manufacturing companies.
• Food and agricultural inputs: The government collected sharply higher food tariffs in the first months of 2025 than in the same period in 2024.

Understanding where costs are rising is only part of the picture; the bigger risk is how those costs compound when multiple tariff programs apply to the same import.

The cash flow timing problem imports create

Tariffs create a working capital challenge that doesn't show up in your P&L until it is already squeezing the bank account. CBP assesses and collects duties when goods arrive at U.S. ports, while suppliers often extend 90-day payment terms.

The tariff bill arrives on Day 0, but your supplier payment obligation does not come due until Day 90.

That gap means your company is financing the tariff cost out of its own cash for three months before it has even paid for the goods themselves. For companies managing accounts payable and vendor payments, building a tariff cost buffer into your cash flow projections is no longer optional.

That buffer is just one input to a broader forecast that now requires more scenarios than most models were built to handle.

What should finance teams do this month?

The Supreme Court struck down the original IEEPA-based reciprocal tariffs in February 2026, though a 10% Section 122 temporary import surcharge replaced them immediately, effective February 24, 2026, for 150 days.

Filing for IEEPA refunds may still be a high-return action if your company paid duties under the IEEPA authority between April 2025 and February 2026. Review entries carefully before filing, as refund scrutiny is rising, and claims that do not first verify HTS classifications and valuations could expose your company to audit penalties.

The following steps are roughly prioritized by impact and urgency:

• Register for ACH in CBP's ACE portal: Phase 1 of the CAPE refund portal is expected to open by April 20, 2026. The CAPE portal requires ACH to process any refund claim, so set this up now if your company hasn't already.
• Audit your top 20 imported SKUs by annual duty cost: Have a customs broker verify each 10-digit HTS code against actual product specifications and material composition, since misclassification in either direction creates risk.
• Build a tariff exposure matrix: Map every major imported input by supplier, country of origin, HTS code, annual spend, applicable tariff rate, and estimated annual duty cost. This is the data your team needs to negotiate with vendors or brief your board.
• Contact your top 10 suppliers by spend: Ask what percentage of their inputs are imported, whether they've already raised prices to reflect tariffs, and whether they anticipate further increases.
• Plan for uncertain refund timelines: Public guidance has indicated varying timelines, so do not include tariff refund expectations as a cash inflow in your base-case projections.

These steps are the foundation for every other cost and forecast action covered in the sections below.

Adjust your financial forecasts for uncertainty

Tariffs have materially affected your company's ability to prepare timely and reliable forecasts. The old two-scenario approach, base case plus downside, no longer holds up when U.S. tariff policy changes repeatedly throughout a single year.

A model needs at least three scenarios: current rates hold, escalation through new Section 301 investigations or expanded Section 232 categories, and de-escalation through trade deals or additional court rulings.

Isolate tariff costs as a dedicated line item in your income statement, separate from base product cost and freight. Link it to your exposure matrix so that when rates change, the impact flows through automatically.

Some large companies have publicly disclosed tariff impacts in their SEC filings and later reduced those impacts by cutting expenses, selectively raising prices, and sourcing from lower-tariff countries.

Present ranges are tied to scenarios rather than single-point forecasts, and update your projections monthly at a minimum since quarterly updates are not fast enough when policy shifts this frequently.

Frequently asked questions about April 2, 2026 tariffs

Do the April 2, 2026 pharmaceutical tariffs apply to all drug imports?

The 100% tariff covers patented pharmaceutical products and their active ingredients. Companies importing from the EU, Japan, Korea, or Switzerland/Liechtenstein face a reduced 15% rate. Imports from the United Kingdom are subject to a separate lower rate under the U.S.-UK pharmaceutical agreement. Large companies have 120 days before implementation takes effect, while smaller companies have 180 days.

Can my company get a refund on tariffs paid under the IEEPA authority?

Companies that paid duties under IEEPA authority between April 2025 and February 2026 may be eligible for refunds through CBP's CAPE portal. Register for ACH in CBP's ACE portal first, then verify HTS classifications before filing. Phase 1 of CAPE is expected to open by April 20, 2026.

How do I know if my imports face multiple stacked tariffs?

Review Chapter 99 HTS code designations and entry summary requirements. Section 232, Section 301, and the current Section 122 surcharge may all apply to the same shipment, depending on the product and applicable tariff exclusions or non-stacking rules. A customs broker can map which programs affect each imported product.

Should I include expected tariff refunds in my financial forecasts?

Do not include expected tariff refunds in base case projections. Processing timelines remain uncertain, and as of early 2026, the refund system had not yet fully launched. Treat refunds as potential upside when received and continue mitigation efforts regardless.

What should finance teams review first after the April 2 tariff changes?

Start with the imported SKUs that generate the highest annual duty cost for your company. Verify HTS classifications and material composition, then build an exposure matrix by supplier, country of origin, annual spend, tariff rate, and estimated duty cost. That gives your finance team the information needed for forecasting, supplier conversations, and board updates.