Consumers took a big financial hit from two years of trade wars with U.S. trading partners. The tariffs cost consumers $50 billion since February of 2018. That data comes from the Tariffs Hurt the Heartland campaign.
For example, in December of last year, Americans paid an extra $6.3 billion in duties, compared to $2.6 billion in December of 2017, just weeks before the trade disputes began to ramp up. While President Trump has had recent success in partial trade deals with Japan and China, among others, Tariffs Hurt the Heartland says work still remains to get things where they should be on the trade front.
“Make no mistake, this trade war is as active as it was in December,” says Brian Kuehl (Keel), co-executive director of Farmers for Free Trade. Tariffs Hurt the Heartland also released specific impact data for states like Florida, Michigan Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, all of which are critical states that Trump will need to win in the November election to get a second term in the Oval Office.
Those five states have paid an additional $7.6 billion in tariffs because of the trade disputes. Speaking of trade, the U.K. departure from the European Union is two weeks old, but there’s no start date for trade talks between Washington and London.
