Home Consumer Food, Gas And Cars Could Quickly Get Pricier Under Trump’s Tariff Plan

Food, Gas And Cars Could Quickly Get Pricier Under Trump’s Tariff Plan

People buy groceries at a Walmart superstore in Secaucus, New Jersey, in July. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP)

By Abha Bhattarai

A new wave of tariffs could quickly reignite inflation on food, gas and automobiles, just as Americans were finally starting to catch a break from fast-rising prices.

President-elect Donald Trump said this week that he would impose sweeping tariffs on goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China as soon as he takes office. The result, economists say, would probably be a swift run-up in prices on necessities like meat, fruits and vegetables, along with cars, clothing and crude oil — all of which play an outsize role in family budgets.

The blowback for consumers could be significant at a time when households are already reeling from years of rising prices. Even though inflation has moved closer to normal levels lately, spikes in the wake of the pandemic pushed up the cost of new cars, groceries, utilities and housing by at least 20 percent in four years, outstripping pay increases in the same period. Discontent with inflation has soured Americans’ view of the economy and played a major role in Trump’s presidential win.

Faith Based Events

“The biggest takeaway from this election was that Trump won because people really hated inflation; they hated seeing prices rise,” said Alex Durante, an economist at the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank. But, he said, Trump’s proposed policies could quickly make that situation worse. “Tariffs make things more expensive. They shrink the economy, and they make people poorer.”

Members of Trump’s transition team have pushed back against the idea that tariffs would spark widespread inflation. Even if some prices rise, those increases would be offset by lower demand elsewhere, treasury secretary pick Scott Bessent said in a recent radio interview.

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