If President-elect Donald Trump's threats are to be taken seriously, no country is safe from tariffs once he takes office.
During his first term, Trump often threatened harsh tariffs on foreign countries, and he even placed several on Chinese imports…and the results weren’t great for the U.S. If he follows through on his promises this time around, what will it mean for consumer prices?
Claire Reade, who worked eight years in the Office of the United States Trade Representative, joined KNX News’ daily political show Countdown 2024.
Listen here:
While Trump has repeatedly claimed that tariffs will only hurt foreign businesses while generating revenue for the U.S., Reade pointed out that “economic studies from all sides” confirm most of the costs are passed on to consumers.
“So if it costs, you know, 25% more to bring avocados or tomatoes in from Mexico all of a sudden, or lumber from Canada or gas from Canada, you're going to see those price hikes coming to you in your grocery bill or at the gas station,” she said.
Reade said the companies that are hurt the most by tariffs tend to be smaller businesses that use Chinese factories to manufacture some of their products “because there was no one in the states who would or could do it for any kind of reasonable sum.”
Plus, if the U.S. starts playing the tariff game, Reade said other countries might retaliate by placing tariffs on American products.
“Last time Trump did tariffs just on China, our agriculture industry was damaged severely, to the tune of the U.S. taxpayer having to pay billions and billions of dollars to our farmers as subsidies to make up for the cost of the Trump policies and the retaliation that was coming in from China,” she said.
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Listen to the full episode above to hear from transgender activist Charlotte Clymer about the Supreme Court arguments over gender-affirming care for minors in Tennessee, and catch new episodes of Countdown 2024 every weekday at 2:30 p.m.
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