Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose an across-the-board tariff of either 10% or 20% on every import coming into the US, as well as a tariff upward of 60% on all Chinese imports, in a bid to encourage American manufacturing.
“Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” Trump said last month at a town hall event in Michigan.
But as with many economic policies, there are trade-offs, and Trump doesn’t talk about the negative effect tariffs could have on US businesses and consumers. He’s also often falsely described how tariffs work.
Vice President Kamala Harris has referred to her opponent’s tariff policy as a “Trump Tax.” Several independent studies have found that the new tariffs, if implemented, would raise costs for the average middle-class family, with estimates ranging between $1,350 and $3,900 a year.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget recently estimated that Trump’s tariff plan would not generate enough revenue to pay for his other spending proposals.
Ultimately, the group estimated that Trump’s proposals would add $7.5 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. Harris’ proposals, by comparison, would add an estimated $3.5 trillion.