Summary
A new Harris Poll shows growing concern among Americans about Trump’s tariff policies, with 72% now worried compared to 61% in January.
Despite Trump’s claim that tariffs are “pouring money” into the country, 66% believe the U.S. economy will take years to recover from these measures.
The poll reveals a partisan divide: 90% of Democrats and 57% of Republicans express concern about tariffs.
Trump has already imposed additional tariffs on Chinese imports and all steel and aluminum, while threatening “reciprocal” tariffs on global imports.
Importers in the US are not simply going to take the hit from their profits when they pay the tariffs to the US Gov. They will correspondingly increase their prices to mitigate the loss. Thus money is not “pouring into” the country. It’s “pouring out-of” the pockets of American consumers.
Being good capitalists, they’ll also increase prices over and above their tariff increased costs for a little extra profit, as a treat. Since it is common knowledge tariffs increase prices, the extra profit over and above the tariff costs will be blamed on trump too and everyone will believe it. So while the tariffs will indeed increase prices, we’re going to be even more than the tariff costs as American consumers.
Also the competition that is not tariffed because produced in the US will raise prices because there is margin to do so, as long as they stay cheaper than the tariffed imported item.
Yes, but then those US companies will have more money to raise worker wages, right … right?
Yes absolutely, after the shareholders have been paid of course.
And once prices are increased, removing tarrifs won’t make them go down again, because why would companies forego profit when consumers are used to those prices?
as planned