A Closer Look At The Detrimental Effect Of Trump's Tariffs (Which He's Preparing To Rescind)

-- The Trump tariffs are best viewed as the equivalent of tax hikes on American consumers, who suffer when higher costs are passed along to them. An approaching election therefore creates stronger political incentives to roll them back.

The tariffs that Trump imposed last year on foreign washing machines, for example, have cost U.S. consumers $815,000 for every job created, according to a new study by economists at the University of Chicago and the Federal Reserve. There was the expected rise in retail prices from foreign manufacturers such as Samsung and LG. “Then domestic manufacturers followed suit, simply because they could,” Chris Ingraham explains. “All told, the research shows, U.S. consumers are spending an additional $1.5 billion a year on washers and dryers as a result of the tariffs. That’s an extra $86 for each washing machine and $92 for each dryer. And less than 10 percent of that goes to the U.S. treasury — about $82.2 million.”

-- Polling underscores the political imperative for Trump to look like he’s making headway on winding down the trade wars, which he once declared would be “easy” to win. Last summer, the Chicago Council found that 82 percent of Americans believe international trade is good for the U.S. economy and that 63 percent thought that NAFTA is good for the U.S. economy. Last spring, Pew Research Center found that 56 percent of Americans think free trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries have generally been a good thing.