How Tariffs Will Impact Us

How Tariffs Will Impact Us by Ryan Seely

President Trump promised tariff actions during his campaign and has been quick to enact or threaten to enact them. As of March 10, 2025 the President has placed 20% tariffs on all Chinese imports- in addition to the 2018 general 25%, and the additional 25% on aluminum and steel, for a cumulitive total as high as 65% He has also imposed 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from every country, and 25% tariffs on all Canadian and Mexican imports- which as suspended until April 2. Many consumers are wondering how these policies will impact their households and communities. Impact on consumers

Increased tariffs will lead to price increases for many consumer goods, primarily those products whose raw or intermediate parts are imported. Additionally, some products may no longer be imported at all, according to UC Davis Economist Christopher Meissner. Naturally, this will lead to a higher cost of living.

Impact on communities

Although price increases will largely be passed onto consumers, the pain will also be felt by both foreign and domestic businesses. Tariffs will obviously increase prices on imported goods, but the price on domestic goods will also increase due to demand shifting away from foreign products.

Tariffs are expected to hurt employment, further harming communities, and this is especially true in communities where significant portions of the labor force are employed by manufacturers. After the 2018 tariffs, steel manufacturing increased their labor force, but that was heavily outweighed by manufacturers that purchased steel who had to lay off more workers – because as prices rose, demand dropped. This is estimated to have cost the U.S. 142,000 jobs.

Big-Picture Long-Term Impacts

If these tariffs are kept in place, they will lead to harmful long-term effects on the industry and the economy. Dr. Meissner posits that tariffs lower competition for firms in the marketplace, making them less innovative and productive. Currently, the U.S. has one of the highest productivity rates in the world, and lower productivity brings lower standards of living and less stability. Last but not least, tariffs on China, Mexico, and Canada together are expected to slightly reduce long-run GDP.

Conclusion

These tariff actions are expected to harm consumers, communities, and the national economy in the short-run and the long-run and must be reconsidered to determine if they are even meeting their original policy aims.

About the Author

Ryan Seely is a Junior at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School studying Economics and Statistics. He is a member of the professional fraternity Delta Sigma Pi and supports the organization through his work on the recruitment team. He also participates in the OrangeSeeds service organization to help first-year students build leadership skills through active involvement in the Syracuse community.

Beyond academics, Ryan works as a research assistant in the economics department, focusing on an international trade project where he is involved in data cleaning and reproducibility within the research team’s coding environment. In his free time, he loves listening to music and podcasts.