Americans Have Lost Over $22 Billion on Account of Tariff Hikes

According to a report by free-trade group Tariffs Hurt the Heartland, Trump’s tariff hikes have caused an estimated loss of nearly $22 billion to Americans till April 2019. These calculations do not take into account the most recent tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods Trump imposed in May, which could take this figure much higher.

According to Senator Chuck Grassley, these tariff hikes are hurting American consumers and importers and are not in the nation’s best interest. Trump has repeatedly justified hiking tariffs on imports by stating that they would hurt foreign exporters, but economists have maintained that it’s the American consumers and businesses who end up paying the price.

Additionally, retaliatory measures against the tariff hikes taken by other countries, for instance, China, are also set to hurt the American economy. The Department of Agriculture estimates a decline of $2 billion in farm exports in 2019 because of China’s tariff hikes on American goods.