10 February 2025

Will Donald Trump’s tariffs hurt US consumers

Ben Chu

Donald Trump has imposed new tariffs on goods entering the US from Canada, Mexico and China.

The US president signed an executive order putting a 25% tariff - or tax on imports - on all goods coming from Canada and Mexico, to get both countries to crack down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

Goods coming from China will also be hit with a 10% tariff "above any additional tariffs" until it cuts fentanyl smuggling. He has already pledged to target the country with a 60% rate, and has mulled a 200% tax on some car imports.

Tariffs are a central part of Trump's economic vision - he sees them as a way of growing the US economy, protecting jobs and raising tax revenue.

During his election campaign, he told voters that the taxes were "not going to be a cost to you, it’s a cost to another country".

That was almost universally regarded by economists as misleading.

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