ATLANTA — On Wednesday, President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on many imported goods, which means the cost of many things will soon increase. But just how much more will it cost families?
Channel 2 Investigative Reporter Justin Gray dug into a new study from the Yale Budget Lab that modeled what tariffs could lead to for the average American family.
According to the study, the average family could see an increase of anywhere from $2,700 to $3,400 in yearly costs.
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Even products like cars, clothes, electronics and more that are labeled “Made in the USA” are subjected to the tariffs.
“Nothing is 100% made in the USA anymore. About 45% of the content of stuff that we manufacture is actually made up of imported parts,” Channel 2 Consumer Adviser Clark Howard. “No matter what, this is going to lead to less choice and higher prices for consumers.”
The National Retail Federation released a study looking at the possible impacts of broad tariffs.
They estimated that a $650 refrigerator could cost between $776 and $853, while $90 running shoes could jump to $119.
Howard says consumers could get hit even from companies not impacted by tariffs.
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“If you go back several years when President Trump imposed tariffs on washing machines, domestic suppliers who were not subject to the tariffs raised their prices on their American-made washing machines the same amount as tariffs forced foreign makers to raise the price of theirs. So, consumers lost twice,” economist Adam Hersh said.
Hersh, who works with the Economic Policy Institute, says some big companies may be able to absorb some costs of tariffs, particularly for components of products, like the Canadian aluminum that goes into cans of Coca-Cola bottled in Georgia.
“This is what happened after the 2018 tariffs on Chinese goods. We saw that Walmart and other big box stores didn’t want to raise prices, and so they absorbed some of these costs rather than passing them on,” he explained.
A poll conducted last week by Morning Consult found that 76% of people who participated are concerned about the impact of tariffs on prices.
Clothing and electronics could see some of the highest price increases.
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