The U.S. Federal Reserve said uncertainty around international trade policy was "pervasive" in the reports collected from 12 regional reserve banks when releasing its new Beige Book on Wednesday.
The document, published eight times per year, is a survey on the country's economic conditions based on information collected from those banks.
The report said economic activity was little changed since the previous report was released in early March, reporting "slight growth" in five districts, "relatively unchanged" figures in three and "slight to modest declines" in the rest four.
The new release, the third one of this year, came as the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" on all U.S. trading partners imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration triggered widespread controversy.
Most districts reported that companies expected increased growth in input costs due to tariffs, said Wednesday's release, noting "prices increased across districts".
Plenty of companies have already received notices from suppliers on upcoming higher costs, and they would, as expected, pass these additional costs onto consumers, said the report.
"The outlook in several districts worsened considerably as economic uncertainty, particularly surrounding tariffs, rose", said the Beige Book.
US tariff policy increases economic uncertainty: Fed Beige Book
