Trump's trade war got Americans a $3 billion tax hike — every month

We already know Trump’s disastrous, prolonged trade war is hurting farmers, companies, and even entire states. But a pair of new studies published over the weekend expose the depth and breadth of harm Trump is responsible for.

Trump’s trade war is costing companies and consumers $3 billion per month in additional tax costs. And those costs aren’t being paid by China or other countries, as Trump often claims. No, this study shows American consumers — teachers, factory workers, and farmers —  along with U.S. companies bear almost all the cost from Trump’s tariffs, according to economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Princeton University and Columbia University.

“This is kind of the worst-case scenario in terms of consumers,” David Weinstein, one of the authors of the study, told Bloomberg.

A different study from four economists, including the World Bank’s chief economist, confirms the economic harm caused by Trump. That study puts the annual losses from Trump tariff cost increases at a staggering $68.8 billion. Even after accounting for any gains from Trump’s trade war, the analysis pegged the overall harm from Trump’s actions at $6.4 billion per year.

The harm caused by Trump’s trade war is hitting his own base the hardest. “Workers in very Republican counties bore the brunt of the costs of the trade war, in part because retaliations disproportionately targeted agricultural sectors, and in part because U.S. tariffs raised the costs of inputs used by these counties,” the second study explains.

The academic study backs up claims by South Dakota’s Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican. She recently said her state has been “devastated by the trade wars that are going on.”

Trump’s incompetence may very well come from a deep ignorance about how the global economy functions. When asked if she thinks Trump understands the basics of macroeconomic policy, former Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen responded simply, “No, I do not.”

While he may not understand how things work, Trump’s actions are having immensely negative impacts on American families. These two studies, which Bloomberg calls two of the most authoritative studies on the topic of Trump’s trade war, show hardworking families across the country are paying a high price for Trump’s decisions.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.