The extra costs will effectively wipe out savings from the president’s tax cuts.
President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade wars are expected to cost the average American family $1,277 this year, according to a study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
The figure is based on the negative impact of tariffs on economic growth, as well as higher prices to consumers as American manufacturers and retailers are forced to pay tariffs on imports.
Trump has boasted that trade wars are “easy to win,” and has repeatedly falsely insisted that China is paying tariffs directly into the U.S. Treasury. In fact, American companies importing goods or supplies pay tariffs enacted by Trump, and typically pass on those costs to consumers. In addition, U.S. industries are hurt by retaliatory tariffs enacted by other nations when American companies try to sell their products abroad.