If you thought you wouldn’t be impacted by tariffs because you didn’t have plans to buy an automobile anytime soon, then think again. There’s hardly any American with a dollar to spend who won’t be impacted by President Donald Trump’s recently launched Trade War with every country via a barrage of tariffs that set to go into effect almost immediately.
Assuming Trump proceeds with the plans he laid out last week — and he has said there is no room for negotiation — only certain goods from Mexico and Canada have a shot at avoiding any tariffs. Otherwise, all countries’ goods are subject to a minimum 10% tariff, with rates going much higher for 60 countries the administration deems the “worst offenders” in terms of trade barriers.
At the very top of that list is China. The US has imposed an 104% tariff on nearly everything coming from China.
If you think your little dresses and items purchased from Temu, Shein or AliExpress can get around the tariffs, the answer is NO!! Starting May 2, the 54% tariff rate (104% for China) will also be applied to packages worth less than $800 coming to the US from China and Hong Kong.
In total, the nonpartisan Tax Foundation estimated before the recent raise of tariffs to China to 104%, that the average American household would pay $2,100 more per year for goods because of the tariffs.
The Highest Tariffs
The United States imported $439 billion worth of goods from China last year, the second top source of imports behind Mexico.
Among the other “worst offenders” that the US relies heavily on for imported goods are Vietnam, which will face an across-the-board 46% tariff; and Taiwan, which will be subjected to a 32% tariff rate.
Since tariffs are a tax on imported goods, it’s American businesses that will have to foot the bill initially when goods from these countries reach the US. But it’s not always the case that businesses fully pass along the additional costs they’re responsible for. In some cases, they may have contracts set in advance with wholesale customers requiring them to sell to them at a given price. Or they may opt to keep prices lower relative to the additional cost they face in order to keep customers.
Even if more production shifts to the US, where Trump has repeatedly said tariffs are “zero,” it can cost more to produce the same goods that were purchased from abroad, which could lead to price hikes.
Having said that, here’s what has the potential to get most expensive from the new round of tariffs.
Clothing
The clothes you buy stand to get a lot more expensive after President Trump announced new sky-high tariffs on imports from around the world, including from China, Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Why it matters: Only 3% of clothing Americans wear is made domestically, with more than half of these items coming from China, Vietnam and Bangladesh.
Footwear
China and Vietnam shipped a combined $18.5 billion worth of shoes to the US last year. That’s nearly 70% of all shoes the US imported.
Toys
China and Vietnam were the top two sources of foreign toys sent to the US last year, shipping a total of $15 billion worth.
The Toy Association estimates that 77% of all toys sold in the US are manufactured in China alone. “It’s just not an industry that is built to be able to manage through a tariff of that magnitude,” Greg Ahearn, president and CEO of the trade group, told CNN, referring to the soon-to-be 54% tariff on Chinese goods.
American consumers, he said, likely won’t start seeing higher prices until late summer, when new products are typically rolled out ahead of the back-to-school period and shipped along with “staple” toys.
Laptops and Tablets
China, Vietnam and Taiwan were the top three foreign suppliers of laptops and tablets to the US last year, shipping a total of $47.2 billion worth, according to federal trade data.
Almost all consumer electronics, including smartphones and computer monitors, are likely to see price increases.
Additionally, since the US relies heavily on Taiwan for semiconductors, US consumers are likely to see a price hike on laptops, cars, household appliances, medical devices, Wi-Fi routers and LED lightbulbs. And these products often don’t just require one or two chips — new cars contain thousands of them.