How have tariffs impacted the United States? Most people have drank the Kool-Aid and believe it drove prices higher for us. Consider two questions:
- Do you personally feel any impact?
- If you believe tariffs are impacting you, can you provide any direct evidence other than your “feelings”?
I asked Grok what the impact of tariffs are on people per year:
This equates to 0.27% of US GDP ($25T), or an extra ~$200 per person (population ~335M). Effects may phase in gradually, with full impact depending on pass-through timing.
I then asked how much people were saving based on the lower price of gas.
Savings calculation: $0.10/gallon × 546 gallons = $55 per person per year.
I then asked how much money was generated in 2025 by tariffs:
With a US population of ~342 million, this equates to about $623 per person ($213B ÷ 342M).
I then asked how much money has been pledged by foreign nations to expand their operations in the US:
The $4.7 trillion in pledged foreign investments (from countries including UAE, Qatar, Japan, and others) equates to approximately $13,500 per person, based on a US population of ~347.9 million as of November 2025 ($4.7T ÷ 347.9M).
When I pointed out to Grok that the impact overall of tariffs was positive, it stated:
In summary, the package has a negative net effect on most people due to immediate price hikes and uncertainty outweighing speculative future gains. Benefits accrue more to capital owners and high earners via revenue recycling, while consumers bear 80–95% of tariff burdens. If investments fully materialize without retaliation, the balance could shift positive by 2027+, but current evidence points to stagflation risks over broad prosperity.
And
The later estimate is ~6–12x higher because it captures the tariffs’ holistic drag (e.g., 3–17% hikes on 15–20% of CPI basket compounding to broader inflation/wage suppression), per models from sources like the Peterson Institute and Fed analyses. The $200 figure is a conservative “first-round” inflation proxy, while the full burden aligns with observed 2025 CPI rises (2.3% to 3%) and household surveys showing $1,500+ average cost increases.
I then pointed out its answers ignore the fact that higher import prices will reduce their consumption by the US public and drive local consumption of products higher.
Its reply for the impact of tariffs then changed to:
Net Annual Effect
-$200 to +$100
| Closer to neutral/ mildly positive for some (e.g., manufacturing workers), but negative for 70–80% of households due to regressive price hits and retaliation. Long-run: -5% wages, $22K lifetime loss for middle-income. |
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I don’t spend much money at my stage of life and what little I do spend is not spent on too many foreign products. No one is talking about the tariffs imposed on US exports that Trump has successfully negotiated down:
From Grok:
Foreign tariff reductions and trade agreements in 2025 are estimated to save US exporters $18–25 billion annually in avoided duties, with an additional $21.5 billion in export value from preferential access and purchases, totaling $39.5–46.5 billion. Using a US population of ~347.9 million (mid-2025 estimate):
Calculation: ($39.5B ÷ 347.9M) to ($46.5B ÷ 347.9M) = $113–$134 per person per year.
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Back to my original premise, do you personally feel a difference in your life based on tariffs? Look at what you are paying more money for and ask what is causing this increase? I know that the cost of meat is due to government (USDA) restrictions, not tariffs. The cost of health insurance is due to the government’s payoff to big pharma. Any increase in pricing of goods not made in the US should make the products made in the US competitive again which is also a net positive.
Comment below how tariffs have impacted your individual life. And I do know that the income generated by tariffs will never by given back to the people.
8 responses to “Tariffs”
The damage done by the obiden administration cannot be undone in a few days.I personally have not been effected by the tariffs, TINVOWOOT and all that it means.
Deficit spending by both of the uniparty are responsible for inflation . Nothing will change until it all collapses
Our Govt. was initially funded by Tariffs before all the Taxes on “We The People”.
1. Yes.
2. My company pays the tariffs, and the burden is putting us out of business.
Please ask Grok who pays. The cool aid being served is the lie that the other countries pay. Here is what I get from Chat GPT.
GPT-4o mini
Who Pays Import Tariffs Levied by the US Government?
Import tariffs are taxes imposed on goods entering a country, and in the case of the United States, it’s the importers—typically businesses or individuals bringing goods into the country—who are responsible for paying these tariffs.
Breakdown of Responsibilities
Importers: These entities pay the tariffs upfront when goods are imported. Tariff costs are generally included in the total cost of importing, impacting the overall expense of the goods.
Consumers: While importers pay the tariffs, they often pass on these costs to consumers in the form of higher prices for imported goods. This means that consumers ultimately may bear the brunt of the costs through increased retail prices.
Foreign Producers: In certain scenarios, foreign manufacturers may absorb part of the tariff costs to remain competitive in the U.S. market. This can lead to lower profit margins for these producers.
Domestic Producers: Conversely, tariffs can benefit domestic producers by making imported goods more expensive, thus encouraging consumers to buy U.S.-made products instead.
No. Not in the least. I have purchased a couple of radios and the prices for those (from China) has actually gone DOWN. I was also looking for some camera and computer equipment (lenses, viewfinder and scanner – all related to analog photography). Items coming from Japan I simply did not buy, because of the risk of paying the tariff and the abject lack of information on how to do that, how much, etc. on my end once they arrive, so I obtained the equipment from US sellers (this relates to eBay purchases) or decided to simply wait.
Every, and I mean EVERY other country imposes tariffs on American goods. Some countries simply will not import American goods (food, automobiles). So, it’s been grossly one-sided and WE pay the price. For being the leading nation in innovation, we are profoundly ignorant and blind. Or perhaps our “leaders” are.
I’m not suggesting NO ONE has been affected… another response indicated that he had, and I will take him at his word. I’m sorry he is losing his business as a result. We lost our business during covid. Everyone has been affected in some way in the last decade, not to mention the GFC.
What seems to be forgotten is that we are in $38 trillion in debt, and neither version of the uniparty has any interest in solving that issue. Tariffs are not going to cure this… indeed, there will be no cure for this other than default. They may reduce the rate of increase, which simply puts off the inevitable a few more months or years, but collapse will be impossible to avoid. Just wait until 90% of all jobs are replace by AI. Think THAT won’t happen? Don’t be stupid. Anyone who is currently working has a 9 in 10 chance of being unemployed and unemployable in the next five years. Better plan for that now. Your choices will boil down to either being independently wealthy and self-sufficient (like the tech bros and ALL of the politicians), or being a stable boy or a concubine for someone who is.
I fail to understand the published SCOTUS Justices’ questions about tariffs being a tax. Tariffs could only be a tax if Americans are compelled to buy the tariffed goods—like Obamacare. Americans are not required to buy the tariffed goods. They are free to decide not to buy, or they are free to buy the same goods from domestic suppliers or from suppliers not subject to the tariff. The goal of tariffs is to reduce demand for particular goods from particular countries—assuming that reduced demand will force the particular country to negotiate on other issues important to America. That is foreign policy. The other proper Administrative goal is to protect and/or foster American production of the particular good. If SCOTUS should somehow conclude that a rise in price is a prohibited tax because it was not the result of Congressional action, domestic producers and retailers would be at risk in an inflationary economy. Indeed, the Federal Reserve would be at risk holding to a policy of 2% annual inflation. I can only wait to see how insane our supposed intelligent leaders have become.
No matter HOW MUCH the government takes in…it will spend 150% more. THAT is how it works, regardless of which criminal major party is in power. Some things associated with shipping costs have gotten cheaper, some associated with tariffs have gone up. The Federal Reserve maintains a worthless currency that it debases a MINIMUM 2% EVERY YEAR, and that figure has been MUCH HIGHER over the past 5 years. I am thankful that none of these prices has put my wife and I in the poor house and we are doing quite ok. That being said, abolish the Federal Government, END THE FED, restore sound currency (backed by gold/silver, or whatever the FREE MARKET wants, and dissolve the “united” States. Restore freedom and we will ALL be better off no matter what.
Tariffs, income, property, sales, inheritance, death taxes, tolls, fees, etc. The list of charges “we the people” are punished with are never ending. We pay 42 Million life forms to remain on SNAP/EBT for generations. We pay invading hordes to live in four star hotels. We rebuild cities after they’re burned to the ground by criminals rebelling against the same laws “we the people” obey. The more I pay attention, the more I ask why. And still, $38 TRILLION are owed to someone somewhere. The collateral is we the people’s blood and our soil.