The word “tariffs” has been thrown around a lot recently, with President Donald Trump using them against Canada, Mexico and especially China. But what are tariffs anyway?
Simply put, tariffs are taxes on imports paid by the importer. So if there’s a 10% tariff on Chinese goods, the importer pays 10% more on anything imported from China, such as consumer electronics. And that 10% tariff that the importer had to pay usually raises the price for the consumer. So phones, computers and anything that’s built in China will get even more expensive.
That’s not all. Anything that’s imported from Mexico, like Levi’s jeans, or from Canada, like crude oil, will have its prices raised if the tariffs go into effect. While at the moment, the tariffs on Mexico and Canada are on hold, they could go back into effect at any moment.
Now, let’s get into why these tariffs are a terrible idea.
President Trump likes to flaunt these tariffs as making the other country pay and wields them as a weapon, a threat to get other countries to bend to his will. But what he doesn’t seem to realize is that tariffs don’t hurt the other country, they hurt the average American consumer. They were meant as a tool to encourage domestic purchasing and country-made goods, but in the long run all they do is discourage trade and force prices up for anything that isn’t made in America.
And America simply is no longer a manufacturing country. Most manufacturing is exported overseas, so putting tariffs on actual manufacturing countries does nothing but mess with the affairs of the countries that do the work Americans don’t want to do and hurt the average consumer by raising the prices of most products.
Simply put, the tariffs don’t benefit the average American. In fact, when so many of us are living paycheck-to-paycheck, the increased prices will hurt us. And as a college student, I’m sure I speak for a lot of us when I say that I need my phone and laptop. If something happens to either of them, that 10% tariff will add up and force the prices to a level that will be even harder to afford.
That’s right. New phones will be even more expensive.
And with China putting up retaliatory tariffs, it seems it’s only a matter of time before the president increases our own tariffs and raises prices for the American consumer again. And on and on, in an endless cycle until either ego is satisfied or someone stops it.
In my opinion, President Trump has stepped on a rake and no one in the White House has enough experience being an average consumer to understand just how bad this will be for our country.
So you’d better hurry if you’re looking for a new computer or phone, because the prices will be flying up very soon.
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