Americans stuck paying 'approximately 100 percent' of Trump's tariffs

U.S. companies and families across the nation, not China, are paying billions of dollars every month for Donald Trump’s trade wars, according to a new study first reported Monday by the New York Times.

The authors of the new report from the National Bureau of Economic Research, found that “approximately 100 percent” of import taxes from tariffs were paid by American buyers.

The report’s findings contradict repeated claims made by Trump that China was paying for the tariffs.

According to Yahoo Finance, Trump made a false claim about China paying for tariffs more than 100 times in 2019. “The Tariffs paid to the USA have had little impact on product cost, mostly borne by China,” Trump falsely stated in May 2019, for example.

A previous analysis by the same authors showed Trump’s trade war cost U.S. consumers and businesses $3.2 billion every month in additional taxes. The latest research did not update those numbers, according to the Times.

In addition Americans footing higher costs from Trump’s policies, retaliatory tariffs imposed by China have wreaked havoc on farmers throughout the country. Bankruptcies among midwest farmers have spiked 45% since Trump started the trade war with China. Even as farmers suffer, Trump’s Agriculture Secretary, Sonny Purdue, mocked farmers for whining too much about the impact of the trade war.

Trump implemented a multi-billion dollar farmer bailout program that cost nearly double the amount President Obama’s auto bailout cost. An examination of that bailout found that it disproportionately helped wealthy farmers.

Another crucial midwest industry, manufacturing, officially fell into a recession in September 2019, thanks in large part to Trump’s trade war with China. According to one analysis, Trump’s trade war cost 10,000 jobs in August 2019 alone, with many from the manufacturing sector.

The Times noted that the latest NEBR study agreed with several other research papers showing American consumers are bearing the costs of Trump’s trade wars.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.