Consumers Can Expect Rise In Prices From Increased Tariffs On Chinese Goods

Retailers say that they can’t absorb the extra costs from the Trump administration’s increased tariffs on billions of dollars in Chinese imports. Now consumers can expect to see price increases when shopping.

The increased tariffs could soon make toilet paper, light fixtures, computers and furniture, more expensive. If no deal is reached with China, the president also threatens another wave of tariffs that would cover almost all other goods including clothing and shoes.

Purdue University agricultural economist Wally Tyner says consumers will be the ones paying the price for the escalated trade war.

“The president talks about how wonderful tariffs are because of their increased funds for the treasury,” says Tyner. “At the end of the day, it’s you and I who pay.”

In turn, he says businesses will also have to make tough financial decisions going forward including laying off workers.

American farmers could also face financial repercussions if the trade war with China continues.

In the past, China has retaliated with tariffs against agricultural imports from the U.S. and those are still in effect. It put new tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods Monday.

But a Tyner points to another trade negotiation that poses an even greater threat. He says keeping a trade deal with Canada and Mexico is crucial for farmers.

“The biggest danger agriculture faces on the trade front right now is not China, it is the possibility that the president would cancel NAFTA and congress not approve USMCA,” says Tyner.

President Donald Trump signed off on the USMCA, or United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, but Congress still needs to act.

Tyner says without a new North American deal, more than two decades of free trade between the three countries would disappear, affecting billions of dollars in goods.