Starting Thursday, the United States Trade Representative’s Office will begin accepting requests from businesses to have products they import from China excluded from the Trump administration’s tariffs. Many are complaining that having to ask for exceptions, which won’t fix the problems they face in the trade war, is burdensome, as they receive no guarantees of relief and must run their businesses in the meantime.

Businesses have to be able to plan ahead and figure out what to charge for products and services, how much to order in supplies, whether to expand operations and hire, and so on. They need certainty to be able to do that, and when it comes to President Trump’s trade policies, nothing is certain.