Did tariffs imposed by the US in 2018 and 2019 act like a tax increase on Americans?
Tariffs imposed by the Trump administration in 2018 added $80 billion in new taxes for Americans, according to estimates by the Tax Foundation, an independent research institute. It calculates the impact in terms of both reduced output and employment—a fall in national income of 0.23% over time and 179,800 fewer jobs. The measures amounted to the 17th largest tax increase since the 1940s, it says.
The moves do not appear to have provided the intended boost to manufacturing in the U.S. "The [2018] tariffs have not boosted manufacturing employment or output, even as they increased producer prices," Federal Reserve Board researchers wrote in December 2019.
Retaliatory tariffs by China against U.S. farm products have added to the burden for Americans, which the government sought to offset with $23 billion in payments to affected U.S. farmers in 2018 and 2019.
