According to Tim Fiore at the Institute for Supply Management increasing tariffs on China 'would lead to a large hike in costs for businesses to stop sourcing from China, at a time when people are already unhappy with high prices.
“If industry hadn’t made these big moves 25 to 30 years ago, you wouldn’t have the quality of life you have in the United States today,” he said, estimating that many product inputs might cost as much as 30 percent to 40 percent more. That would have made everyday goods much more expensive for Americans to buy.
Indeed, there’s some irony that tariffs are more popular at a time when inflation is a leading economic concern and when unemployment has been below 4 percent for more than two years. Tariffs might not raise overall inflation, but they by definition increase costs for the products they’re applied to, and that feeds through to the prices consumers pay.’
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/05/18/biden-trump-trade-00158499
’ The new 100 per cent levy on EVs carries more bark than bite, since the US imports just 2 per cent from China. But the tariffs will raise costs for battery makers, which are already struggling with expenses. Other manufacturers will be pinched by higher input costs. In the long-run, the tariff ratchet insulates American industry from competition, stymying innovation and raising costs for consumers.
The measures are a blow to the green transition at home and potentially abroad. With households already pressed by the high cost of living, lower prices for EVs and solar panels now look like a missed opportunity.’
