President Trump’s tariffs on nearly 70 countries go into effect Thursday, some as high as 40 percent. And while the White House insists the costs will be absorbed by foreign countries, most economists warn that it will lead to higher prices.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said he thinks, “Your average American household is going to spend thousands of dollars more between now and the end of the year to pay for Trump’s tariffs.”
The prices of everyday goods, including bananas, coffee, medicines, and wine, are all expected to increase. Clothing and shoes are expected to go up as well since 97 percent of the apparel sold in the U.S. is made in Asia.
In North Carolina, shopper Kristen Silbermann said she’s already feeling the effect. “I have seen an increase in prices. Tariffs are a little scary.”
The administration insists the tariffs will reshape global trade and boost American manufacturing long-term.
The tariffs have also generated significant revenue. The Treasury Department says the U.S. in June brought in $27 billion in tariff revenue, more than three times what it collected in the same period a year ago.
President Trump on Sunday said lower and middle-income Americans could get some kind of dividend or distribution of money as a result of tariffs, but offered no specifics.
Trump also defended his decision to fire the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics following a weak jobs report, calling how jobs numbers are measured “a scam” that favors Democrats.
Trump told reporters, “Just before the election, this woman came out with these phenomenal numbers on Biden’s economy. Phenomenal numbers. And then right after the election, they announced that those numbers were wrong.”
Larry Summers, Treasury Secretary under Bill Clinton, called Trump’s charge “preposterous.” He said, “These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures.”
But National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett defended the move, telling Fox News Sunday, “Look, the fact is that when the data are unreliable, when they keep being revised all over the place, then there are going to be people that wonder if there’s a partisan pattern in the data.”
