President Donald Trump keeps claiming that the Chinese are the ones paying the tariffs. But are they really? Sure, exporters are facing some of the added costs, but it is the American people who are being burdened by the import levies.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York published a new study that found U.S. companies and consumers are paying the tariff costs at around $40 billion a year.
New data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that as much as 25 percent is added to the import price of Chinese goods entering the country. So, if Chinese firms were really paying the taxes, they would be slashing their prices by as much as 20 percent, which would allow American manufacturers, retailers, and wholesalers to keep prices the same.
Import numbers from June 2018 to September 2019 show that Chinese import prices have only slipped two percent.
FRBNY researchers did discover that China is still struggling from the tariffs. China has seen its share of U.S. imports of machinery, electrical equipment, and electronics slump by as much as six percent since 2017.
End the trade war now!
So 40 billion = about $300 per US household. We spend about 4 times that on Starbucks coffee per year. And that is if you do not find what you are looking for on sale. I just purchased a 50 inch 7 series 4K LG smart TV for $289, the cheapest I have ever seen for this TV. I do look for products made in other places, to save money, but I have not noticed any huge price increases on the crap I buy that is made in China. It is a non-issue for most consumers and a waste of time to even think about. Prices go up and down all the time for many reasons.