The public sentiment overwhelmingly criticizes Trump's tariffs as burdensome to American consumers, primarily affecting middle and lower-income households. Commenters express frustration over increased living costs, perceive tariffs as unconstitutional taxes, and express skepticism about legislative oversight and political motivations. There is a strong call for accountability and a legislative re-evaluation of these policies, with many arguing that they disproportionately benefit the wealthy while deepening economic instability and inequality.

Donald Trump

U.S. Government

Supreme Court

To begin with we should look at the amount of international trade that the US did before all this started. Imports were about 14% of GDP and exports were about 11% of GDP. So, international trade was not a huge part of GDP as it is in some countries.

At the start of this year tariffs were fairly low. Many companies had listened to Trump's speeches though and began stockpiling products in the US. As a result, when tariffs were raised on "Liberation Day" they were able to use those stockpiles. The Liberation Day tariffs announced were very high. However, in the weeks after most of those very high tariffs were reduced to about 10%. Since then tariffs have risen from that level, especially tariffs on China.

Certainly those tariffs are having an effect on the US economy. But we must not overstate what 10% (or a bit more) tax on about 14% of GDP can do. For similar reasons although the amount gathered in tariffs has been large, it has not been large when compared to other taxes like income tax.

I expect that most of the effect on prices has already taken place. Some say that importing businesses have eaten some of the cost of the tariffs. If that is true then it's likely that price will still rise more. Also, if retaliatory tariffs are enacted by other countries that could cause some problems for the US economy. Though again it's worth remembering that exports are only 11% of US GDP.

RobThorpe

Probably attributable to several things. 
1. Some of the tariffs have been delayed
2. Changes in consumer behavior take time to measure
3. The job market has slowed down, in part because of the tariffs. 
4. Economic downfalls usually come at once. Things look okay until the panic.

Prissy1997

I can only tell you what I know from my business. The Office Equipment Market was valued at an estimated $207.69 billion by 2025. I can tell you the pricing within this market generally went up 10% to 30% on China made products and even the Japanese manufacturers actually manufacture in China. The increase has been happening in stages, last spring, some more in the summer and more to come. 

Now let’s think about a school who buys a fair amount of office equipment and supplies. They are paying more now but didn’t plan for this in their budget until this fall. How long do you think it will take for this budget increase to hit your local school taxes?

Healthcare is another big customer in this business. When the hospital sets a new budget for office supplies, your bill will go up. Takes time.

The point is, this is just one business example of how it takes time to see the inflation caused by tariffs.

Ok-Charity-4712

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The tariffs aren’t on the retail price of the imported goods, it’s on the wholesale price or raw material price. We seem to talk about a 10% tariff like it’s going to make my $10 widget cost me $11 now. But if the retailer bought it from an importer for $5 and now they’re paying $5.50, they eat $.10, the importer eats $.10, the exporter eats $.10 then the retail price can go from $10 to $10.20. It’s not nothing and this definitely brings inflationary pressures but the economy has been absorbing it so far. It’s not the type of pressure you want building behind an economy though.

Skalawag2

To split hairs here:
Saying “inflationary effects of tariffs” is a bit sloppy shorthand.

More precise: “Tariffs raise the prices of imported goods and close substitutes; if broad enough, they can contribute to inflation.”

And this is the uncertainty the Fed has faced. The Fed appears to be siding more with tariffs are causing one-time price increases vs the more pernicious inflationary impact. 

And perhaps “doing ok” is a comparative comment vs the doom and gloom predicted by many in the politics industry. 

As others highlighted, economies are complex systems with feedback loops (eg substitutions by consumers) so it’s not as mechanistic as if A then B. The resilience, thus far, reflects a strength of the system.

solomon2609

We have a $30.50T economy.  Tariffs are expected to raise $240bn annually.

Experiment time - gather up thirty dollars and fifty cents in cash.  Now, lose a quarter - $.25.  Ask yourself how much that hurt.

Did it hurt as much as they said it was going to hurt the economy back in April when we knew the numbers?

And where do payments go?  Payoff debt.  And who bears the economic cost? Not solely US citizens.

LetterheadCareful280

Imports only make up about 15% of U.S. GDP. 
That said, about 61% of them are raw materials or unfinished goods used in the U.S. on the role of production. There is also a time factor. An example would be if the Federal Reserve pumps money into the economy, it may take 8-12 +- months before the economy feels it in earnest. I expected it to be winter time in the US before we really got a good sense of it. 
Follow the PPI (Producers Price index). It helpful to see what is happening with the prices that producers are paying. They can absorb some of it. They can pass some on to labor by hiring less or not paying what they otherwise would have, but eventually it’s probably go to show up in the Consumer price index.

Hayek1974

It hasn't hit yet. My company uses alot of rubber seals. Our o-ring prices are up over 50% compared to last year but we order in such bulk we are still using the old stuff. We will be ordering again in a month or so, and that is when we will need to raise our product prices to account for this.

fuck_jan6ers

[deleted]

Many exports to the United States are priced as part of long term contracts. Particularly things that aren’t sold to consumers but rather businesses and purchased through a bidding process. Many of these contracts don’t include a clause on tariff changes or make these the responsibility of the seller.  So, for now, exporters to the U.S. will have to eat the tariffs, and the inflationary effect, if there is any, will only arise the next time prices are renegotiated.

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The government is making money off the tariffs, yes that's true. 
Is that helping the average consumer, not one bit . 

See trump doesn't understand that companies are  passing off the cost of duties to consumers via price hikes. 

Also companies are having to lay off employees due to these increased duties , in some cases to prevent price hikes. 

Trump also doesn't understand that small businesses can't just pickup and move supply chains to the US, due to lack of work force and factories here 

Trump is gaslighting the public and hoping that they don't vote with their wallet , unlike the last election. He is in denial of the burden he's put on consumers.

swiftfoot_hiker

Other countries do not pay the tariffs, period.

We pay the tariffs in the form of increased prices because the importers pay the tariffs and raise their prices accordingly.

Trump is a pathological liar supported by low information cult members

jibaro1953

Trump has successfully pulled off one of the biggest tax increases to the poor and working class in history. And most of them praise him for it.

blyzo

The rich are getting richer. The middle class and the poor are getting shafted.  Tariffs never work. History tells us that.

Psychicgoat2

Please understand that tariffs are a tax on the American people. It is supposed to be a scalpel of a tool to help specifically domestic industries ramp up to compete against foreign industries. 

Tariffs is not a hammer to be used to drive down all imports.

infinit9

1. Are tariffs making the U.S. “richer”?

•           Revenue Gains: Tariffs have indeed generated significant revenue. Between January and July 2025 alone, they brought in about \\$80.3 billion, and projections suggest up to \\$5.2 trillion over 10 years if current policies remain in place.

•           But at a cost: These revenues come with economic downsides. Estimates show U.S. GDP will shrink by 0.8% in the short term and could fall by up to 6% in the long run, with wages dropping about 5% and households facing a lifetime loss of \\$22,000.

•           Household impact: The average U.S. household is effectively paying an extra \\$1,300–\\$2,300 per year due to higher prices from tariffs.

Bottom line: Tariffs raise government revenue, but they act like a tax on consumers and businesses, reducing overall economic welfare.

2. How are tariffs affecting the U.S. economy?

•           Higher Prices &amp; Inflation: Tariffs increase costs for imported goods, which ripple through supply chains. Prices for metals, autos, and consumer goods have surged, with some categories like leather and apparel seeing 35–37% price hikes.

•           Job Market: Employment is projected to decline by 480,000 jobs by the end of 2025, and unemployment could rise by 0.3–0.6 percentage points.

•           Sectoral Shifts: Manufacturing sees modest gains (+2.7%), but construction and agriculture shrink, and overall GDP remains smaller than before.

3. Impact on other countries and global economy

•           Global Slowdown: The World Bank warns of a \\$500 billion drop in global economic activity by 2026, and the IMF cut global growth forecasts by 0.6%.

•           Retaliation: Over 60 countries have retaliated. China imposed 84% tariffs on U.S. goods, targeting politically sensitive sectors like agriculture and autos. This led to bankruptcies among U.S. farmers and major losses for automakers like Ford.

•           Supply Chain Disruptions: Companies like Apple and Tesla are shifting production to India and Europe to avoid tariffs, while rare earth restrictions from China hit U.S. defense and tech sectors.

•           Financial Markets: Stock markets reacted negatively; the S&amp;P 500 fell 3% after major tariff announcements, and currency volatility increased.

4. Strategic Goals vs. Reality

Trump’s tariffs aim to:

•           Reduce trade deficits.

•           Encourage domestic manufacturing.

•           Use tariffs as leverage in global negotiations.

However, these goals come with inflationary pressures, slower growth, and strained global relations. While some reshoring is happening, it’s slow and costly, and global supply chains remain deeply interconnected.

In short: Tariffs are not a free lunch. They generate revenue but act as a hidden tax on consumers, slow economic growth, and create global instability. The U.S. government might be “richer” in terms of tariff revenue, but households and businesses are paying the price.

 

GshegoshB

We wont know until the revenue numbers come out next year but im gonna go out on a limb and guess the tax cut and falling economic activity and increased deficit spending will say hes lying like he does about everything. If you can see his hands hes lying

iampatmanbeyond

His family is getting quite rich off of playing the stock market with tariff-on, tariff-off manipulations.

Dirtgrain

It's a con job in the form of a shell game. Trump's tariffs are a sneaky way to impose a regressive national sales tax that burdens the poor, the middle and middle-upper working class, and retirees. The tariffs partially pay for the tax cuts in the OBBB that permanently benefit mostly the wealthy, while temporarily giving everyone else a few crumbs (e.g., tips deduction, overtime deduction, senior deduction) that expire after the 2028 elections.

In other words, he's semi-permanently taking a lot of money from our left pockets in the form of tariffs, while putting a portion of it back into our right pockets in the form of short-lived temporary tax breaks. In 2026 and 2028 (both election years), trump and the republicans will then brag about how much they've done for us.

We've been scammed by this shell game! We need to open our eyes to the reality of what MAGA economic policy is doing to us.

cleverest_moniker

Working how? the working class got a tax hike and the money collected will likely be used to bail out farmers who can't sell thier crops due to his trade war. Lose lose for everyone but the 1%

AdhesivenessCivil581

I feel the only way tarrfs work in the 21st century is if the US can make the same or better product at a cheaper cost.  Otherwise it’s just a tax on the American consumer.

obeythelaw2020

Not a single dollar is coming into the country, from other countries, for any tariffs that the USA enacts on other countries.

The tax, aka tariff, is paid by the importer, not the exporter. .. Which raises the prices for the consumer.

It is just another hidden tax.

scarr3g

No, not even close. On top of the fact that his horrendous immigration policy is causing people to not be able to keep their farms running, the tariffs have made everything more expensive. An example is beef. While beef can get expensive, the prices for it have skyrocketed.

Anytime trump says something and claims it to be either true or false, assume the opposite is true.

TonyG_from_NYC

We are all getting poorer by the day as our dollars become worth less and less.

Biscuits4u2

No, only his wealthy colleagues are becoming wealthy off the backs of the middle and lower class.

amiibohunter2015

As everyone has said, FOREIGN COUNTRIES DO NOT PAY THE TARIFFS. US importers pay the tariffs and pass some or all of it along to US consumers. Some companies do shift production back the US, if they have capacity. Others just stop selling in the US. Some have committed to open factories here that will take years to build. The foreign country does lose the sales and lose money that way. But they are NOT cutting a check to the US. Trump can not be stupid enough to believe what he says. But he thinks his base is stupid and will believe anything he says. And for once, Trump isn’t lying.

495orange

The tariffs provide income for the Federal government which Congress has not appropriated. This is solely a means for Trump to build up money to use in whatever means he wants with 0 checks and balances. You know, dictator stuff.

ThePensiveE

"They are working, he and his pals are getting richer."

There corrected the sentence.

OrangyOgre

They’re working as warned tbh perhaps console prices are not the best indicator of the economy, but look at the price increases Xbox has seen since America started imposing tariffs on China. Microsoft has historically manufactured their consoles at a loss because the assumption was something like software sales will make up for it - but now they’re being asked to pay an additional what, nearly 60% in what could be described as an import tax? As expected, Microsoft is passing the cost down to consumers. Trump makes it sound like companies are flooding our country in droves; all he is doing is giving them an incentive to trade with anybody but us, if not forgoing American goods altogether. I’d imagine the chaotic rollout for tariffs has caused a stagnation in investments - companies don’t like making predictions during uncertain times, so they’ve likely cut back on things such as hiring and buying materials/products. I believe his whole thought process is that by bullying our allies into higher import prices, we’ll bring production back to America - if anything, consumers are spending less, trade partners are second guessing us for reliability, and countries are moving their goods elsewhere

ianzachary1

Trump is an idiot. He literally said we brought in 17 trillion in eight months. Can you imagine the outrage if Biden said that?

coskibum002

During Trump first term, yes to a certain degree. At 5-15% tariff, China exporters and Yuan currency fixing eat some of the cost because U.S was their biggest exporting market by a large margin. This time around China basically was forced to tell the the U.S to go pound sand because the tariff was too high to eat the cost. Now I don't think China is too willing to compromised because they don't want another Trump to push them around. 

The modern world after the cold war was build around using USD and a U.S center free trade system. Now US doing a 180 in such a short notice that the world is still trying to work thing out. Now everyone need to decide, do we still want to wait it out and still be in the U.S system or should we do something new. With each pasting day with Trump, path 2 is more and more appealing.

Trump is 100% getting richer but the U.S is at the edge of a cliff with a rope that is tie to a lot of countries. Now we just wait to see if the other countries are willing to take the chance of pushing us off the cliff and hopefully they have time to cut the rope before falling with us. 

This would be comedy gold if I wasn't in the front seat of the crash.

cookies0_o

Tariffs are a regressive tax and thus they are slowing and stunting the economy. We saw how much progressive stimulus money boosted the economy is 2020. The best way to improve the American economy is $25 an hour minimum wage nationwide. Maybe $22 in rural areas. Maybe. Single payer healthcare to get rid of the 35% of healthcare costs that is simply secretaries adjusting copays etc. substantially more tax brackets above the highest bracket. Higher corporate tax rate that would encourage corporations to give out bonuses, fund retirements and invest in R&amp;D instead of handing out shareholder payments because the most latter would be taxed much more heavily. This would boost innovation and economic growth. 

Giant spending on batteries first. EVs second. Solar and wind third. This would help climate change. It would help reduce our dependence on the Middle East and help Europe get off Russian gas. Both developments would reduce our military expenditure. 

Subsidized housing for the bottom 10-30% of income earners. This would include free housing for the homeless in large cheap dormitories. Communal dining hall. Communal restroom. Private room with twin bed, desk, dresser only.  No closet, kitchen, or bathroom. Bud the homeless out to the housing repeatedly. Plenty would stay. Stay and improve on health over time. This would boost economic growth and tourism in our cities. 

Spend money burying electrical lines, installing EV chargers, upgrading the electrical grid, and installing wind and solar. Burying electrical lines is important because of fires and the increased load going to homes to charge their new EVs. Giant build out of 280 mph railroad track for electric bullet trains would be great as well. The Texas triangle would be a great first place to start. 

Ban Airbnb in any area that has a decently high population density. The reduction in housing supply is hiking prices for ownership and rent and also sprawling out cities outward. Likely 90% of Airbnb should be banned. 

Finally transportation of goods down the Mississippi River is significantly cheaper than by rail or road. Unfortunately, we aren’t using the river as much as we should or could because the channels and locks need to be upgraded to fit larger barges. Using this river more is a bigger boost than most realize. Using the river would free up space on our roads as well.

SkotchKrispie

The government is bringing in more tax money revenue being paid by United states people. So the government is getting richer (less in debt really) and the people are getting equally poorer.  It is a zero sum game.

mspe1960

Not at an local level, in any real sense, absolutely not.  Some raw numbers might be going up (see that post elsewhere), including the dollar value of stocks.  But prices for just about everything I encounter daily from groceries, to homes/rentals (res and commercial), to construction materials, to auto parts are WAY up, yet I make about the same as last year.  *He* probably keeps saying things are the best they've ever been because he's a sheisty lying fascist, but even if charging US companies/people to purchase goods from abroad *could* help it wouldn't for an inconceivably long time.

HardlyDecent

US citizens are paying the tarif and it’s going right into a pot of money that congress has no oversight on.

Kozzle

Wealth is being extracted from the American middle class to fund tax cuts for the rich with these tariffs

onedollar12

yes, the tariff tax is increasing Inflation and losing companies business overseas

physicistdeluxe

Absolutely. Trump is an economical genius. Basically it’s like imposing another tax on the American people and claiming “America is getting richer”…

Not long ago China was supposed to pay the tariffs. Now we no longer  hear that argument. The Chinese probably stopped paying…

mikeber55

Tariff money is made from those importing the products. In no situation does a country get more wealthy on tariff money by imposing tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on those importing the things. In this situation, we, the US pay the tariffs. We are just paying more money to import stuff and the government is collecting that money. So the money is shifted as a tax on products that we import from our collective pockets when we buy a thing to the government that collects the tax. There is way more to this but I just have to repeat every simple detail because people have been so incredibly misinformed about tariffs. We the people importing the products are not getting richer. The government is just collecting more taxes from us. The government is getting more of our money.

doerriec

They are mostly illegal precisely because they are taxes and only Congress can levy taxes. The Supreme Court will have to affirm this or abandon the Constitution entirely.

RazorRush

I don’t know. Is the US getting rich off taxes? The government is. The US is not.

yeahgoestheusername

Nope. The sad reality is that most, or maybe even all, of his supporters don't even bother to do research and look at the data available publicly to see for themselves. They just believe his words.

LargeSand

According to the CBO, the tariffs are going to generate $3T in additional revenue over the next decade. 


Which would be great if it was being used to begin reducing deficits and start paying down the debt. But it's not.

You started your post with, "Trump says...". You've already answered your own question.

Diligent-Contact-772

The US government is definitely getting significantly richer. Unfortunately, the people are getting poorer.

Celebrimbor96

Stop being ignorant.  The tariffs are a tax on us and US businesses.  How are we getting richer?  My God, who voted for and supports this lying Pedo?

bjdevar25

When can we some accounting detailing where all the money from tariffs is? I haven’t seen any rebate check, just higher prices everywhere.

calguy1955

It comes from inside the country,  so it's just redistribution, from you to treasury, from treasury to his pockets.

field_operator

one more thing: the system is designed for volatility, and thus to make this guy richer - explained here "The SHOCKING story behind Trump's tariff czar Howard Lutnick | If You're Listening

[ABC](https://www.youtube.com/@ABCNewsIndepth), 2.18M subscribers"

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYWsonBlNaY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYWsonBlNaY)

It’s a tax on the buyer, so yes the government might be making money but the US Consumer is paying it.

Stinky_Fartface

i mean trump &amp; his cronies are getting richer through the grift, so thats all that really matters to him

shiplax12

The ONLY time tariffs are useful is when you already have a thriving manufacturing industry. 

Say for example, if we still had a thriving steel industry, a tariff on foreign steel would help prevent American companies from buying anything but American steel. We don’t have any thriving manufacturing jobs, so it is just a tax on Americans.

DepressiveNerd

Citizens are being choked in debt paying bills and buying groceries, not working, money the US government is claiming they are making is from the pockets of Americans

bjm64

I have to admit that one way that the tariffs have been beneficial for my brother who runs a company that makes and sells stuff is that all his cheap product competition on Amazon has dried up so he is selling more because the Chinese stuff couldn't sell for cheap anymore. Everything else is stupid because we pay the tariffs for anything that isn't made in country 100 percent. The costs all roll back to the customer.

clintCamp

Republicans are working to shut down accurate economic reporting such as monthly job reports. That's not what you do if things are going well.

trippedonatater

He is just looking at tariff revenue and maybe the trade surplus.  So if you look at that metric then yes

Hypeman747

Lol. No. It is a boldface lie. Tariffs are the biggest tax on the American people in 30 plus years.

Rogue_Deus

We are getting richer to the extent that American businesses and, ultimately, consumers are paying for the tariffs into the US Treasury. Unaccounted for is the reduction in trade between countries and decrease in consumer consumption due to higher costs. All this will result in a loss of jobs and higher inflation. We are starting to see signs of both.

essgee9

The US treasury is receiving the tariffs = richer. The US citizen is paying the tariffs = poorer.   
The foreign supplier of the goods to the US is becoming less competitive and some will go out of business. No US business will spring forth to replace the loss of that item, because it is too risky, given what Trump did to businesses that invested big in the US.

Baselines_shift

Let me rephrase this question.

"Trump says the Tariffs are working, however with job losses mounting, inflation going up beyond what was calculated, and economic activity below what it was a year ago.  How long can Trump keep up his lies about Tariffs before his own Maga constituents turn on him for lying?"

Wermys

They are a ridiculously high, almost comically high in many cases, tax increase. Not shockingly, that means the federal government is bringing in tax money. They are effectively a tax increase on American businesses, with some of it passed on to consumers and some of it eaten by the business, which impacts the business’s bottom line.

What Trump has accomplished, and what I believe is his actual goal, is to give the presidency its own source of revenue that does not require congressional approval. It was literally a thousand years ago that the Magna Carta was signed and required the king to get approval from parliament before levying taxes. If the Supreme Court allows it to continue, congress’s power of the purse is gone.

AdZealousideal5383

If I take 100 bucks out of my savings account, and move it to my checking account, am I any richer?

adamlh

It would have if the tax breaks were significant enough to offset that. Tariffs aren’t inherently bad. It is just another form of revenue collection for the government. The issue with the current admin’s implementation is that the cost of goods has increased, but the tax relief isn’t big enough to keep the purchasing power (for the mass majority) as it was without tariffs.

obelix_dogmatix

Taxes raise revenues. So the government is collecting it. We are all poorer because we are paying them and businesses and farmers are going bankrupt.

Ursomonie

Trump always lies to make sure he looks as good as possible.  Don’t listen to his lies to assess how American economy is doing

secrerofficeninja

He’s doing permanent Damage.  Ask a farmer in the midwest if tariffs are making them money.

mgladuasked

Tariffs are a tax on imports and are paid by whoever does the importing.   They are NOT paid by the other country.  If you buy a gadget at WalMart and pay $50 for it instead of $30, that extra $20 is the tariff and you paid it.  You pay tariffs on beef, tomatoes, avocados, electronics, nearly everything.

The big thing is that Trump's Big Beautiful Bill massively overspends.  In fact, it spends $2 for every $1 it takes in.  Eventually, that's going to make the dollar worth half as much, so there will be 100% inflation.  If your wages, net of taxes, rise by less than 100% you are going to be worse off.  And it's very likely that you will not see real wages rise by 100% by the time prices double.

The US is getting massively poorer by overspending.  That debt has to be financed, and those finance charges are going to be serious because our credit rating is going down because we're overspending.  The tariffs hurt poorer people the most, because those are the people buying everything at WalMart and Amazon.  The only people getting richer are the ones with the biggest tax cuts -- and that ain't me or you.

Ishpeming_Native

The coffers are getting fuller, but he needs that money to cover the lost revenue for his big beautiful bill.  The U.S. is not “richer,” the federal government just brought in more revenue from hard-working American consumers.

JeanniePax1003

It's a tax hike for the consumer of the product.  Trump enacted a 10+% tax in most imported goods and people on the support it because it was sold as sticking it to the foreign countries that take advantage of America by selling their stuff there.  So yeah, more money in government coffers to reinvest in corporations.  Do the working class benefit from that arrangement?  I guess, if you think more money to the most wealthy companies (conditional on their support of Trump) is a good thing.

halpinator

Americans get poorer, while the USA and Trump get richer. And the pace of this development is getting faster.

GetYaa123

Certainly doesn't fuckin feel like it. But I guess losing a mountain of jobs and everything getting more expensive just fell outta the fucking sky while the President is busy trying to Old Yeller the 1st Amendment.

SorryToPopYourBubble

Tariffs are import taxes. Does the USA "get rich" by taxing its own citizens? Of course not. Taxes shift money from our pocket to the government's. As usual, Trump will say anything, no matter how false for his own political benefit.

kitebum

If America is getting richer from tariffs, that means Americans are worse off.  I suspect heavy machinery dependent industries like farming are going to be among the worse hit by this as tariffs mean rising prices for parts and changing prices means change in demand - I highly doubt parts  are forking out and over supplying parts, they’re more likely working on back order. Back order means delay for the farmer, and crops don’t care about your back order issues, they’ll spoil when they spoil. 

My prediction is US domestic food production is going to dip and food prices are going to rise.

IrishMilo

Well, Trump and his buddy's are getting richer. Technically, they are Americans, so.....

Daxnu

If you take "working" to mean "creating widespread and easily exploitable vulnerability" and "the US" to mean the five or ten thousand richest Americans then sure, it's a whirlwind of success.

DavyJonesCousinsDog

It's basically the smartest tax hike in history. He's lifted the taxes on everyday citizens and his base is cheering for it because they think they are not paying. Genius at work.

Hopeful_Ad7486

I have a related question: I hear a lot that any tariff we impose just gets passed back onto us consumers via higher costs of goods. If that’s true, dont other countries that place tariffs on our stuff also suffer the same fate?  If so, why do they do tariffs?  Not sure I understand the point of tariffs anywhere if it just raises costs for everyone. I guess protectionism comes into play but does that always offset the negatives?

mayorLarry71

Don't really know. What I do know:

1. Smoot Hawley Act (1930) enacted tariffs and turned a really bad recession into a Depression that lasted until WWII.

2. As a Free Market Capitalist I'm not in favor of tariffs levied for protectionism of on-shore industry and producers

3. Like Trump himself, the tariffs are all over the map as to cause and amount. A complete shit show.

ChelseaMan31

trump and his cronies are getting way richer. so the tariffs are working.   
Global economy is screwed, but trump cronies definitely are doing better.

zeezero

Tariffs generate money for the US budget, that is getting eaten up by all the pet projects and garbage he has been engaged in, $200 million for an unnecessary ballroom extension of the WH, $100’s of millions for name changes and regulation changes in the military, 100’s of millions to DHS, and of course those 100’s of millions, even billions, are being paid for by consumers all over the country and the world, companies for the most part are raising prices, reducing workforces, and cutting back on expenditures, like benefits, fewer and lower wage increases, less hiring, and let’s recall major economic changes typically take a year or more to truly show the impact, it’s only really been about 7 months of his tariff policies. 

And then of course he’s lying about the amount of money coming in, he constantly inflates the numbers every time he talks about it. Over the course of a month or so, he went from saying tariffs were generating a couple billion $$, to the last number I recall him saying was $17trillion, he just makes this stuff up as he goes along and the conservative media eats it up, and regurgitates it back to the lemmings that consume their broadcasts.

Howhytzzerr

Let's start with the fact that Trump's tariffs are un-Constitutional. The Constitution gives Congress the power to levy tariffs, not the President. Probably to stop exactly what Trump is doing: using tariffs as a political weapon for his own gain.

The effects of the tariffs are not all in yet, some of the tariffs only went into effect recently, some shipments were en route before the tariffs hit, and some companies are trying to eat the tariffs.

Tariffs are a tax on incoming goods, and the US consumer is paying most of that. Tariffs are basically a tax increase for consumers. Prices are rising especially in food, inflation is moving up again and un-employment is also moving up. Consumer confidence is down. The US budget deficit hit record highs. These are all worrying signs that the economy is cooling and some economists are worried about a recession.

The net effect of Trump's tariffs and trade policies is that the economy is doing worse, any money brought in by the tariffs will be overshadowed by reduced employment, higher prices, and general economic malaise.

billpalto

Tariff=consumption tax, which disproportionately affect middle to lower income families

IndependentOpening11

Of course not. The tariffs have generated revenues for the government but those dollars are coming from American consumers not foreign producers. Trump's rapidly shifting trade policy is creating uncertainty for businesses. Tarriffs are reducing our trade with key partners. Soy bean farmers, for example, are facing a bleak season with no orders from China, which normally purchases a third to half of our harvest. Countries around the world are now working to reduce their economic and military dependence on the US.
The budget deficit is projected to be a trillion dollars for the first time ever. Our debt is ballooning but our credit has been downgraded so we are paying higher interest rates on it.

DustinTWind

Something I don't see mentioned is the GDP effect.  They are using GDP reports and claiming that we are net positive on GDP growth and that is a sign of a healthy economy and that the tariffs are working to establish that.  

Basic economic understanding allows you to know that net exports is a factor in calculating GDP.  With the tariffs, imports has directly been impacted and causes an increase in the net exports.

Old calc: $20b in exports - $31b in imports = $11b decrease to GDP

New calc: $20b in exports - $5b in imports = $15b increase to GDP

(random numbers not actual GDP reporting)

So while the GDP is growing, it's growing lower than the decrease to imports.  Which shows other segments of the economy are not growing as fast as projected.  It's a sign of a propped up economy that will eventually have issues.  

Ultimately, the issue is you can't have tariffs be revenue and bring back jobs and manufacturing.  It's one or the other.  And right now, we are just dealing with limiting the cost in and/or pushing the cost down to consumers.  No one wants to make decisions based on these tariffs because they're established to be fleeting.  Any changes to supply chains requires long term investment.  When your long term is impacted by someone who does things on a whim, it's hard to justify spending for infrastructure when everything could change on a dime.

filmandacting

He and his rich buddies are. That's the America of his vision. 

Poor people don't count.

Illustrious_Law8512

It's enriching the already rich, sure.  They pass the buck on to us, as always.

ERedfieldh

what he REALLY means is the gov collects more $$ at the border from imports. that’s true in the sense that tariffs are a tax. but that money isn’t free profit! it’s literally coming out of american companies + consumers’ pockets who are paying higher prices on goods. US importers pay more → they pass the cost down → WE feel it in higher prices. foreign exporters might get squeezed if demand drops, but often they just find other buyers or cut deals. global supply chains get messy, cuz tariffs push countries to reroute trade flows.

bambolatoya

Is the federal debt being reduced? Are your taxes being reduced? Are you getting better services for your tax dollars? If all those 3 things are a no, then it really doesn't matter because the money is not being put to any sort of good use.

amandamck79

No  republicans voted to explode the budget, again. On tax cuts for themselves. Sure the tariffs are bringing in money, to the federal government. But it’s doing 2 things. Hurting real Americans, and NOT replacing the money they’re spending. Taxing the rich really is the only way.

Flarida_Rye

SavagePlatypus76

Details are found in signed contracts while bullshit is found on social media posts.

Chemical-Ebb6472

vancel_art

At this point he’s more likely to get G1. He does not know how to play nicely with the other G6.

Euphoric-Agent-476

In a maximum of 15 days he freaks out and throws 150% rates again.

RepresentativeFan894

The art of getting his ass handed to him.

WLAJFA

Sounds about as real as ending the war in Ukraine in 24 hours.

Negative_Piglet_1589

I'm waiting till next week, before his new tweet drops

WarSignificant859

Who stole grandpa’s iPad? Trump did not write this.

ScootsMgGhee

Recent analysis indicates that Trump's tariff policies are significantly increasing living costs for Americans, raising questions about their economic ramifications.

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