How Trump’s tariffs have affected Americans

Since returning to the White House, Donald Trump has been deeply shocked by the global trading system.

The U.S. president announced the so-called Liberation Day on April 2, a series of so-called “countdown” tariffs or import taxes that hit dozens of countries around the world.

Many of them have been suspended. Since then, Trump has also announced agreements with several partners including the UK, Vietnam, Japan and the EU, which has lowered some tariff levels.

But Washington’s specific goods and commodities (such as automobiles and steel) also target industry-specific tariffs, while the overall average U.S. tariff rate has been the highest in nearly a century.

The tariff itself is ultimately brought to the U.S. company from abroad by U.S. companies.

The impact of all this is felt differently in both the U.S. and in the global economy.

Yale University’s Budget Laboratory estimates that the average effective tariff rate on imported goods in the United States was 18.2%, the highest since 1934.

That From 2.4% in 2024Before Donald Trump returns to office.

This significant increase means that the U.S. government’s tariff revenue has risen.

Official U.S. data shows that tariff revenue in June 2025 was US$28 billion, three times the monthly revenue in 2024.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), an independent U.S. fiscal regulator, estimates that in June, the increase in tariff revenue will decrease the U.S. government cumulative under new tariffs imposed in the U.S. from January 6 to May 13, 2025 Borrowing $2.5 trillion in 10 years to 2035.

However, the CBO also judged that tariffs would shrink the size of the U.S. economy relative to the absence of them.

They also predict that due to the Trump administration’s tax cut In the next ten years.

Donald Trump sees the bilateral trade deficit as evidence that other countries take advantage of the U.S. by selling more goods to the U.S.

One of his reasons for the tariffs is to address this imbalance by curbing imports and forcing other countries to lower their own barriers to American goods.

But one of the outstanding effects of Donald Trump’s trade war so far is increasing imports of U.S. goods.

This is because before the tariffs were imposed, U.S. companies stocked up supplies to avoid being forced to pay additional taxes.

At the same time, U.S. exports have only moderately increased.

The end result is that the U.S. commodity trade deficit has expanded rather than fallen.

It hit a record $16.2 billion in March 2025, then dropped to $86 billion in June.

The distortion caused by inventory will disappear, but in the long run, many economists expect the Trump administration to continue to work to eliminate the overall U.S. trade deficit.

This is because they believe that the deficit is driven primarily by structural imbalances in the U.S. economy – ongoing state spending outweighs national production – Not unfair trade practices Targeted by other countries in the United States.

Trump imposed punitive tariffs on China, with the first phase of taxes reaching 145%.

They dropped to 30%, but The impact of these trade hostilities on China’s trade Nevertheless, the United States is still important.

In the first six months of 2024, the value of China’s exports to the United States fell by 11%.

Meanwhile, China’s exports to some of its other trading partners have grown, indicating that Chinese companies have been able to find customers in other countries.

China’s exports to India grew 14% this year, with the EU and the UK, respectively, up 7% and 8% respectively.

It is also worth noting that during this period, the value of exports to ASEAN countries in China, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia, increased by 13%.

The Trump administration has been concerned that Chinese companies are trying to bypass China’s tariffs by setting up operations in neighboring Southeast Asian countries (who exports semi-produced goods) and exporting finished goods from there to the United States.

This “tax jump” occurred when Donald Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese solar panels during his first term, and some economists believe China’s exports to ASEAN countries increase It may be related to the same phenomenon.

Some countries responded to Trump’s trade war by seeking to deepen trade ties with others rather than raising their own obstacles.

Britain and India have signed a trade deal Three years of negotiation.

Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are a group called the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) – with many Latin American countries (Mercosur) new trade agreements with many Latin American countries.

The EU is reaching a new trade deal with Indonesia.

Canada is exploring a free trade agreement with ASEAN.

Some countries have also taken advantage of the breakdown in trade between the United States and China.

Traditionally, China is an important global importer of U.S. soybeans, which is used as feed for its 440 million pigs.

But in recent years, more and more Beijing has Turn to buying soybeans from Brazila trend analyst believes the trend has been accelerated by Donald Trump’s latest trade war and Beijing’s new retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural imports.

In June 2025, China imported 10.6 million tons of soybeans from Brazil, but only 1.6 million tons came from the United States.

When China imposed retaliatory tariffs on our soybean imports during Donald Trump’s first term, his administration felt the need to go straight Compensation for American farmers through new subsidies.

Economists warn that Trump’s tariffs will eventually raise U.S. prices by making imports more expensive.

Official U.S. inflation rate was 2.7% in June. This is slightly higher than May’s 2.4% inflation figure, but Still below 3% in January.

Inventory earlier this year helped retailers absorb the effects of tariffs without raising retail prices.

But economists have seen some signs in the latest official data that Trump’s tariffs are now starting to be imposed at prices for U.S. consumers.

Certain imported goods, such as major appliances, computers, sports equipment, books and toys, show prices in June.

Researchers at Harvard Pricing Lab are using online data from four major U.S. retailers to check the impact of tariff measures in real time in 2025 Growth in 2025 is getting faster and faster Instead of household goods that are not affected by tariffs.

Other reports by Alison Benjamin, Yi Ma, Anthony Myers.