MINNEAPOLIS – While President-elect Donald Trump said his plans for tariffs will convince countries to put an end to illegal drugs and migrants, experts said the announced rate of 25% on all goods from Canada and Mexico, and even more so on Chinese goods, will increase the cost of virtually every good you can think of.
“Even if it is implemented for a few days or a week, it will have a very rapid impact,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
Canadian rates would mean Minnesotans would pay between 35 and 50 cents more per gallon for gas, depending on the season, De Haan said. That’s because the majority of our state’s crude oil comes from Canada.
]“Economists generally agree that this means these tariffs are being passed on to consumers,” said Tyler Schipper, an associate professor of economics at the University of St. Thomas. “Many Fords are currently produced in Mexico, and so Ford cars could come to the U.S. and be 25% more expensive.”
Best buy The CEO is now warning that shoppers will bear the higher costs of electronics.
“Those Chinese imports at Best Buy would be more expensive and probably close to that 25% tariff,” Schipper said.
Schipper said the common belief among economists is that tariffs hurt the economy and have led to trade wars in the past.
Higher costs would be especially damaging now that inflation is hitting Americans particularly hard, he said.
“This is costly, both for American companies and for American consumers,” Schipper said.
