A recent survey of U.S. small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) showed that nearly half have experienced a cost increase of over 20 percent due to U.S. tariff policies and almost the same proportion of businesses have reduced their shipment volumes due to higher expenses.

A total of 336 SMEs took part in the survey conducted by Freightos, a Barcelona-based cargo booking platform, from August 19 to September 9. The survey results proved that the import taxes are hitting smaller companies harder than bigger competitors.

"Unfortunately, small- and medium-sized businesses are bearing the brunt of the trade war," Adam Lewis, president of Clearit Customs Brokerage, told Bloomberg. 

"Unlike larger corporations, they don't have the same insulation or sophistication to absorb frequent tariff changes, currency swings, and rising costs."

The survey also showed almost 60 percent of respondents said Washington's policies have weakened the world's largest economy's standing as a trading partner, compared with 6 percent who said it's been strengthened.

"Expectations of new or expanded tariffs and the duties applied under the trade deals of the last few weeks has shippers bracing for possibly more severe challenges to business," Judah Levine, head of research at Freightos, told Bloomberg.

"We are witnessing not just temporary disruption, but potentially long-term structural changes to international sourcing and pricing strategies."

Besides, an analysis published by Budget Lab at Yale University on September 9 found that U.S. tariff hikes are reducing household purchasing power and will likely increase the number of Americans living under the poverty line by between 650,000 and 875,000 – roughly 0.2 to 0.3 percent of the U.S. population – depending on the poverty measure used.

Because poverty is calculated by comparing household incomes to an inflation-indexed threshold, higher prices resulting from tariffs push that threshold upward without lifting most forms of income. As a result, more families are classified as poor, said the Yale analysis.

The findings suggest that tariff-driven price hikes are not only weighing on consumers but also worsening poverty, compounding the uneven economic toll of trade policy.

Researchers at the lab estimate the average tax rate on imports has jumped to more than 18 percent, the highest since 1933.

While U.S. consumers and small businesses bear the burden, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Washington ruled on August 29 that Trump overreached in invoking a 1977 law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose the tariffs, undercutting a major priority for the president in his second term.

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear the case in early November.

(With input from agencies)