As trade tensions between the U.S. and China heat up, expect to pay for it at the cash register.
“Every time this trade war escalates, the risk to U.S. consumers grows,” Matthew Shay, the president and CEO of the National Retail Federation, said in a statement. “With these latest tariffs, many hardworking Americans will soon wonder why their shopping bills are higher and their budgets feel stretched.”
Shay also called tariffs “a tax on American families.”
President Donald Trump escalated a trade war with China by slapping 10 percent duties on $200 billion of Chinese products. The levies will rise to 25 percent at the end of the year. Beijing said Tuesday that it will retaliate by putting tariffs on $60 billion worth of U.S. goods next week.
As of the latest tally, the tariffs will mean higher prices on things like frozen orange juice, shampoo, peanut butter, tools and so on.
In tweets, the president has argued that pushing trading partners will result in new deals that are more favorable to the U.S.
In the meantime, U.S. companies must attempt to absorb the higher costs on imported goods, which could translate into “higher prices at the register around the holiday season,” according to Michael Salerno, lead director of global banking at First National Bank of Omaha.
Be the first to comment