And he spent so much of the summer scrambling, talking to customers and his sales team about how to steer Jammy through the trade war, that he let other projects slide. He’d been planning to hire two people in logistics and marketing but hasn’t found time to even write the job descriptions; installing a new computer system was put on hold.

If the latest round of tariffs proposed by Trump is implemented, parts in fully 85 percent of the products Jammy sells will suddenly be as much as 25 percent more expensive. Passing that on would share the pain with customers including Bain Capital’s American Trailer Works Inc., which makes utility and cargo trailers.

At Blue Ridge, based in Irwindale, California, there’s a different level of stress-out. The company’s second factory just opened in an old steel plant in Allentown, Pennsylvania, that’s big enough to add more sewing machines. The Trump tax overhaul reduced corporate tax rates for this year and gave CEO Ning He the capital to expand with the new facility, at a cost of more than $1 million.

Then Trump put feathers on his $200 billion tariff list. China is by far the biggest producer of fluffy down plucked from geese and ducks, the kind Blue Ridge stuffs into about 70 percent of the pillows and duvets it makes for retailers including Macy’s Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. There isn’t a lot of wiggle room for the company, which employs around 100 people and has had about $100 million in sales over the past three years.

“I’m in big trouble,” said Ning, 55, who became a U.S. citizen after immigrating from China three decades ago.

The way Trump is waging this trade war doesn’t make sense to him. “My first reaction was this is stupid. If they are doing this smart, I have no complaint. The decision looks like it was made by someone doesn’t understand the industry. Maybe they don’t know down feather comes from duck and goose. Maybe they think it comes from chicken?”

Blue Ridge’s retail accounts want current prices locked in for next year -- and they can easily switch to one of his big Chinese competitors, whose finished products aren’t under any tariff threat. That’s why Ning is considering moving his own production lines to that country. In the meantime, he’s rushing to import as many feathers as he can and hoping for a resolution between the White House and Beijing.

“Everyone is very panicked,” Ning said. “I hope they can reach a deal.”

Keith Weinberger, CEO of Empire Today, wasn’t terribly worried in the beginning. He thought he had everything under control as he finalized a presentation on July 30 for the board on dealing with tariffs of 10 percent on the luxury vinyl planks the home-flooring and carpet installer imports from China. Empire’s suppliers there had agreed to eat the cost for a while in exchange for a certain level of committed orders. Empire, with $700 million in annual sales, has the wherewithal to provide that.

But two days later, Weinberger’s plans were torched when Trump ordered his administration to consider pushing the duties to 25 percent. The company, based in Northlake, Illinois, sources all its carpet and a lot of its other flooring in the U.S., but this kind from China -- what the industry calls LVP -- is the fastest-growing part of its business. There’s some production in America, but not nearly enough to meet demand.