3 Ways New Tariffs Could Increase Your Utility Bills
Conversations on President Trump's tariff actions generally focus on how they will influence the pricing of consumer goods. Unfortunately, utility prices could also increase for many Americans.
Read More:
Find Out:
Nearly 80% of people polled fear tariffs will increase utility costs, according to a recent survey from Payless Power. Worse yet, nearly two-thirds (64%) of people polled fear rising energy costs will make it challenging to pay their monthly bills.
Here are three ways Trump's tariffs could drive up utility bills for many Americans.
Americans are paying more for their electricity bills. Over 60% of Americans are paying more for their electricity compared to last year, according to a recent survey by PowerLines and Ipsos. The survey revealed that more people plan to pay more this year.
Tariffs are the main cause of increasing prices on various fronts. These include increased duties on solar panels to parts needed to construct wind turbines. A turbine, for example, requires parts from numerous international sources.
'A turbine consists of thousands of subcomponents,' said Endri Lico, an analyst at the consulting firm Wood Mackenzie, as he explained the problem to the New York Times. The article stated that Lico estimated that in 2023, the United States imported about $1.7 billion of wind-related components, mainly from Europe, Mexico, Vietnam and India.
The increase in cost to import or manufacture may directly increase the pricing of electricity for Americans. If Canada issues retaliatory tariffs, that could also influence pricing on electricity.
Discover Next:
Many Americans may not be concerned about heating bills currently, as we're past winter. Unfortunately, for those currently needing to heat their homes, it's fair to expect tariffs to increase bills. The same could be true as we approach fall and winter later in the year.
Natural gas is used to heat many homes, and 9% of U.S. natural gas supplies are imported from Canada, according to the American Gas Association. The Association reported that it could cause Americans to pay an additional $1.1 billion, at a minimum, annually in costs.
This is also not to mention the increased tariffs on steel or aluminum used to construct power plants or pipelines. Americans could expect heightened pricing from this as well.
While it may seem odd on the surface, Americans should anticipate paying more for their water bills. Water bills have been problematic of late, with monthly water payments increasing by 7.1% year-over-year, according to Bank of America.
This increase isn't due to tariffs; extra duties could intensify the pain for many Americans. However, the United States uses a lot of chemicals to treat water, which could directly influence water bills.
'A lot of the chemicals that are used in the water treatment process come from outside of the United States. With the uncertainty about tariffs, those could have a downstream increase on our costs,' explained Tricia Anklan, partner at West Monroe a water utilities and electronic consulting firm, to Yahoo Finance.
Heating that water could also become more expensive thanks to tariffs on steel, which is a key component of water heaters.
There's no telling how long the pain will last for Americans struggling to pay utility bills. Budgetary stress could linger as long as heightened tariffs and retaliatory tariffs stay in place.
More From GOBankingRates
6 Used Luxury SUVs That Are a Good Investment for Retirees
How Far $750K Plus Social Security Goes in Retirement in Every US Region
7 Overpriced Grocery Items Frugal People Should Quit Buying in 2025
12 SUVs With the Most Reliable Engines
Sources:
Payless Power, 'Tariff Anxiety: Could Trade Policies Push Energy Bills Higher'
PowerLines and Ipsos, 'Most Americans report higher electricity, gas bills compared to a year ago'
Endri Lico/The New York Times, 'Tariffs Are Likely to Hit U.S. Renewable Energy'
American Gas Association, 'American Gas Association Statement on President Trump's Upcoming Address to Congress '
Bank of America, 'Hard Water Bills'
Tricia Anklan/Yahoo Finance, 'Why your water bill is an inflation problem that isn't budging'
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 3 Ways New Tariffs Could Increase Your Utility Bills
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
16 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'When He Least Expects It': Michael Cohen Warns Elon Musk Of Trump's Revenge
Michael Cohen, former longtime personal attorney to Donald Trump, on Sunday warned Elon Musk that the president isn't done with him yet. 'They're going to really go after Elon Musk like nobody has seen, ever, in this country because they can,' he said on MSNBC on Saturday. 'And one thing Elon doesn't understand is this political guerrilla warfare that they're going to conduct against him.' Cohen warned that Trump can use the power of government to target Musk's companies and even his citizenship. Musk and Trump last week had a spectacularly public falling out, and over the weekend the president slammed his one-time pal as 'very disrespectful' and warned him of 'serious consequences' if he supported Democrats. Cohen said that while Trump has also downplayed the feud, the president is likely already plotting against the billionaire behind the scenes. 'I just wish him well,' Trump said on Friday. 'No he doesn't,' Cohen said. 'Because while Elon Musk is taking a step back thinking Trump is taking a step back, what Trump is actually doing is weaponizing the Department of Justice through his attorney general and other people, and they are gonna drop the hammer on him out of nowhere when he least expects it. That's the playbook.' See more of his conversation with MSNBC's Ali Velshi below:
San Francisco Chronicle
20 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
China says its exports to the US fell nearly 10% in May, as trade talks are due to start in London
China's exports to the United States sank fell nearly 10% in May from a year earlier, new customs data show, adding to pressure on the world's second largest economy as a new round of trade talks with Washington was due to start later Monday in London. China's total exports rose 4.8% last month, slowing from an 8.1% year-on-year increase in April. Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2 billion. China exported $28.8 billion to the United States in May, while its imports from the U.S. fell 7.4% to $10.8 billion, the report said. Still, exports to Southeast Asia and the European Union remained robust, growing 14.8% and 12%, year-on-year. Exports to Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia were sharply higher, and exports to Germany jumped more than 12%. 'The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China's exports to remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,' Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a commentary. Many businesses had rushed orders earlier in the year to try to beat higher tariffs. Once new import duties took effect, shipments slowed. Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the U.S. imposed on each other in their escalating trade war, Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report. 'But with tariffs likely to remain elevated and Chinese manufacturers facing broader constraints on their ability to sustain rapid gains in global market share, we think export growth will slow further by year-end,' Huang said. Despite the tariffs truce, rancor between Beijing and Washington has persisted, with angry exchanges over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries and visas for Chinese students at American universities. The round of negotiations due to take place later Monday in London follow a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. It's unclear if that exchange will lead to any significant progress during the talks this week. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Friday, Trump said Xi had agreed to restart exports of rare earth minerals and magnets to the U.S. which China had slowed, threatening a range of U.S. manufacturers that relied on the critical materials. There was no immediate confirmation from China. The trade data released on Monday showed a nearly 21% plunge in the value of China's rare earths exports in January to May compared with a year earlier. In terms of volume, those exports rose 2.3%. Similar trends can be seen in exports of other products and commodities, such as shoes, ceramics and cell phones, as slowing demand causes prices to fall. Other data released Monday highlighted the pressure on China's own economy from slowing exports. Imports have faltered since manufacturers import many of the components and materials needed for the goods they assemble for the world. At the same time, China's own domestic markets are suffering. The government reported that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, evidence of sluggish demand. The persisting deflation partly reflects lower food prices, economists said.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump branded 'unlawful' over handling of LA riots
Police clashed with demonstrators after a third day of protests in Los Angeles against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, branded the US president's deployment of the National Guard in the city as "unlawful" and "purposely inflammatory". Demonstrators have been protesting since Friday against the Trump administration's immigration raids, which last month aimed to detain as many as 3,000 people per day. Police in LA have said the downtown location is now an "unlawful assembly" area, while there have been reports of looting and vehicles have been set on fire. Trump posted on his Truth Social platform that things are "looking really bad in LA" and said: "Bring in the troops!" Read more from our media partners below or click the headlines to skip ahead > How Trump's immigration crackdown sparked LA uprising > Downtown LA is a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness > Trump orders law enforcement to 'liberate' LA from 'migrant invasion' > LA protesters, enraged by Trump, flood the streets > British photographer hit by non-lethal bullets during LA protests It began with co-ordinated raids on locations throughout Los Angeles on Friday. Immigration officials, backed by heavily armed FBI officers with assault weapons and body armour, stormed a clothing factory and at least two other locations in Latino areas of the city, trying to make good on orders to ramp-up the pace of deportations. The raids were the trigger for two days of clashes between protesters and federal officers in Los Angeles, where fires flared and fireworks exploded, prompting Donald Trump to order 2,000 National Guard troops onto the streets of the city. Read the full story from The Telegraph A shirtless man waving a Mexican flag stands atop a burning car in the heart of Los Angeles, as another man throws a traffic cone into the flames and some play drums and shout chants in opposition to immigration officials. The downtown district of one of America's biggest cities was a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness as protests, which had previously been mainly peaceful, turned ugly. Read the full story from Sky News Donald Trump has vowed to 'liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion,' amid violent clashes between members of the state national guard and anti-immigration enforcement protesters. The president took to Truth Social on Sunday, where he promised that 'the illegals will be expelled' and that the city would be 'set free,' as troops confronted demonstrators on the streets of downtown LA – using tear gas and 'less lethal munitions' to disperse crowds. Read the full story from The Independent Thousands of Angelenos enraged by Donald Trump's decision to commandeer their state national guard swamped the downtown streets on Sunday, bringing a major freeway to a standstill. But the national guard, hemmed in by the protesters and by dozens of Los Angeles police cruisers, played almost no role in any of it. A vocal, boisterous but largely peaceful sea of protesters engulfed the north-eastern corner of downtown Los Angeles around city hall and the federal courthouse. Read the full story from The Guardian A British news photographer has undergone emergency surgery after being hit by non-lethal rounds during protests in Los Angeles. Nick Stern was documenting a stand-off between anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) protesters and police outside a Home Depot in Paramount, a city in LA county and a location known as a hiring spot for day labourers, when a 14mm 'sponge bullet' tore into his thigh. Read the full story from PA Media
