Six months after US President Donald Trump’s new tariff policy, a Goldman Sachs report claims US consumers are now paying up to 55% of import duties, and this figure could soon reach 70%. Goldman Sachs estimates that American consumers are paying more than half of Trump’s tariffs, meaning Americans are facing a situation where they earn a penny and spend a rupee.
The Trump administration had implemented these tariffs to harm China economically, but according to the report, now they are having a direct impact on the pockets of American consumers. Since Trump’s “Emancipation Day” speech in April, prices for everything from furniture to food have risen steadily.
Goldman Sachs says that if Trump implements his new tariff threats, inflation will rise again, further increasing the hardships of the common people. The report said that so far the Trump administration has imposed heavy tariffs on copper, steel, aluminum and auto parts. Tariffs up to 28% have been imposed on China and up to 16% on other countries.
Increase in consumer price index since April
According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has been rising steadily since April and reached 2.93% in August. Another measure used by the Federal Reserve also reached 2.7%, above the target of 2%.
Trump administration may focus on nutrition assistance programs
The report also said that the Trump administration is promising to reduce inflation, but prices are showing no signs of falling. Meanwhile, the White House plans to invest some of the billions of dollars in tariff revenue into nutrition assistance programs that have been hit by the government shutdown.