What to Know About Who Pays the Higher Costs of Trump's Tariffs
Shoppers buying clothes from retailers in China might soon pay more than twice as much, now that a special exemption for lower value imports is disappearing. And companies involved in international trade must now make even more complicated calculations to decide how much they owe in tariffs.
'Maybe 3 percent of the people are well-prepared,' said Jeremy Page, a founding partner of Page Fura, an international trade law firm, whose clients include large companies. 'And that might even be charitable.'
Imports from China have been hit with tariffs of 145 percent. That means for every $100 worth of goods a business buys from that country, it has to pay $145 to the federal government. Goods from most other countries have a new 10 percent tax, though that could rise if the countries do not reach trade agreements with the United States by July. And there are separate tariffs on cars, steel and aluminum. Mr. Trump has also said he wants to impose new tariffs on pharmaceuticals and computer chips.
Mr. Trump contends that the tariffs will encourage businesses to produce goods in the United States. The tariffs on Chinese goods will almost certainly reduce imports from the country. But American businesses will not be able to quickly get goods from elsewhere — U.S. imports from China totaled $439 billion last year — and they will end up owing huge amounts in tariffs.
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