Some companies are eating the added costs, most are passing them on to customers, and others are using both legal and illicit methods to lower their import taxes.

BY BRUCE CRUMLEY @BRUCEC_INC

Photos: Getty Images

Ever since President Donald Trump announced his sweeping import tariffs in April, business owners have searched for ways to manage the added costs—sometimes adopting starkly contrasting approaches. Some entrepreneurs have vowed not to raise prices they charge customers, and instead find other ways to offset the expenses. Others have passed those along while also using legal loopholes that decrease the rates of duties applied. But a sizable and growing third group are accepting offers from suppliers to defraud the U.S. out of customs taxes owed, according to recent reports.

While a Wednesday court ruling may put those tariffs on hold or eliminate them altogether, there’s no certainty at the moment. Even prior to that, it was impossible to know just how many businesses were using each of those three very different methods to deal with Trump’s levies that added between 10 percent and 145 percent to the costs of imported goods. In most cases, U.S. companies sought a balance between shouldering some of that expense themselves, and passing part of it to customers. But a minority of entrepreneurs have taken other questionable or, in some cases, fully illicit approaches to blunting the impact of........

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