Some Of Trump’s Biggest Fans In Business Are Starting To Feel The Uncertainty

Small business owners, who largely cheered Donald Trump’s election, are starting to feel uncertain about the future amid the president’s rapid policy changes.

Optimism among small businesses fell in February, according to a monthly survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses released Tuesday. An index measuring uncertainty rose to its second-highest level in the survey’s 50-year history. Despite the downtick, business optimism remained above its historical average.

Small businesses have historically applauded Trump and his policies. The confidence index hit what at the time was its highest point ever in 2016, the first time Trump was elected. And after Trump won re-election last year, the index surged.

The survey highlighted the uncertainty taking hold in the business community. Trump’s on-again, off-again threats to impose tariffs on U.S. trading partners have made planning for the future cloudier and raised concerns about rising costs and inflation reigniting.

For example, Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will likely raise costs for U.S. companies that make things out of metal.

Business owners are responding to the developments by raising prices, according to the survey. The net percentage of businesses raising prices rose 10 percentage points to 32%, the biggest jump since 2021, and the third-highest level on record.

“Although economic perceptions remain much more constructive than in recent years, the recent flurry of tariff activity appears to have dented economic expectations and put upward pressure on small business prices,” Charlie Dougherty, Jackie Benson, and Ali Hajibeigi, economists at Wells Fargo Securities, wrote in a commentary.