Businesses are spending more on lobbying as President Donald Trump makes tariffs a central part of his trade agenda, according to a new report from Advancing American Freedom.
Rachel Greszler, who wrote the report, said companies are seeking tariff exemptions rather than putting that money toward expansion, hiring or higher wages. The report found that lobbying disclosures mentioning tariffs increased 239% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the same period in 2024. Reported lobbying spending rose 337%, though some of that work may have covered other issues as well.
Greszler said affordability is a major concern for Americans, and argued that shifting tariff rules can push up costs, put jobs at risk and leave workers with less in their paychecks.
Lobbying activity has grown noticeably. Fourteen organizations reported spending more than $1 million on lobbying in the third quarter, compared with two during the same quarter in 2024. Another 105 spent more than $100,000, up from 26 two years earlier.
Tariffs may also be feeding into consumer prices. Researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated that tariffs added 2.9 percentage points to prices for the consumer goods they examined, including both imported and domestically made products.
Greszler cautioned that smaller businesses may not have the resources to lobby for tariff exemptions. Some could be forced to cut back or shut down, she said.
Trump has defended tariffs as a way to bolster U.S. manufacturing and bring jobs and investment back to the country. The White House has said foreign exporters will ultimately pay the cost.
A separate analysis by Advancing American Freedom estimated that tariffs were associated with about 75,000 fewer manufacturing jobs in their first year, and as many as 1 million fewer jobs nationwide than pre-tariff trends would have suggested.
The group said manufacturing was among the sectors hit hardest, despite being a key focus of the administration’s effort to bring factory work back to the United States. It also estimated that U.S. trade with Canada fell by $50 billion, or 6.5%, before the latest Section 338 tariffs took effect. Imports from other countries increased during that period, rather than U.S. manufacturing growing.
As trade policy continues to shift, businesses face a choice: keep spending on lobbyists and tariff planning, or hold off on investments, hiring and expansion until the rules are clearer.
