‘That’s A Substantial Economic Hit’: Trump’s New Tariff War Will Hurt Americans
Incoming president already is threatening US trading partners Canada and Mexico
The new tariffs Donald Trump wants to impose — including the ones he’s already threatening Canada and Mexico with — are going to hurt Americans and the US economy.
That’s according to economists, political leaders and others across the political spectrum.
Trump long has advocated tariffs on a variety of the nation’s international trading partners, and most recently said that he will establish 25-percent levies against goods coming from Canada and Mexico.
Those tariffs would be big, and would violate the current trade agreement among the United States, and its immediate neighbors, according to Douglas Holtz-Eakin, one-time director of the Congressional Budget Office, and chief economic policy adviser to Republican John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
“That’s a substantial economic hit,” he said.
The tariffs that Trump is proposing could rapidly increase inflation, according to Rep André Carson (D-Ind).
“Tariffs, in President Trump’s first term, did very little to impact the economy. It did not deliver on the factory jobs he promised, and this time the impact could be far worse,” he said. “The tariffs that he is proposing are much bigger and far more dangerous. And these actions are estimated to directly raise prices on consumer goods by $4,000 a year for the average American family."
Trump’s tariffs could impact across the US economy, said Juanita Tolliver, a political analyst and commentator, and Democratic political strategist.
That includes rising alcohol costs, or produce costs like avocados, or the cost of cars, she said.
“These are all things that are big imports from Mexico and Canada. And I think, when we think about it, it is not isolated to those dollars that will be coming out of the pocketbooks of Americans. But also jobs,” Tolliver said. “Think about how the hospitality industry or the automotive industry could be impacted by these types of tariffs.”
Trump’s plan would hurt those Americans most that could least afford it, according to Rep Becca Balint (D-Vt).
“It is going to hurt Americans deeply. I think if he goes through with the plan it’s going to hurt American consumers, of course. Most especially people on fixed incomes,” she said. “You have the U.S. Chamber of Commerce saying it will increase costs for the average family in America by about $1,000.
“You’ve got the folks within the steel industry and the textile industry here in the United States saying this would be absolutely devastating for industries, and so it’s a terrible idea. It’s been a terrible idea.”
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