Donald Trump's surprising election and his promise to overhaul the U.S. tax code set off celebrations across corporate America – but some industries barely applauded before they began gearing up for a fight.

Trump's win gave Republicans control of the U.S. government for the first time in a decade and quickly drew attention to a tax plan that House Speaker Paul Ryan unveiled last summer with little fanfare. Ryan's radical tax-code rewrite would replace the corporate income tax with a 20% tax on businesses' domestic sales and imports; their exports would be exempt.

Cue the alarm bells for import-heavy companies like Wal-Mart, Target and Nike. Retailers, apparel makers, shoemakers, automakers and others unleashed one of their most robust lobbying and public relations pushes in recent memory against the so-called "border-adjusted" tax. Buttressed by more than 10,000 phone calls to congressional offices, by a parody-style TV ad that aired during "Saturday Night Live" and by a succession of Republicans who've expressed concern about the plan, the opponents' efforts appear to be winning. So far.