President Donald Trump’s new tariffs claim to protect American jobs, but they’re most likely to hike prices, hurt industries and spark more financial trouble for the United States that citizens will not be able to afford.  

Trump’s recent commitment to implement tariffs and tax imported goods from China, Mexico and Canada has sparked debate with people. While Trump’s administration has claimed the reason for these tariffs is further to prevent the spread of illegal drugs and immigration concerns, the economic repercussions of these tariffs cannot be overlooked. 

Imported items from China will only have a 10 percent  tariff on all imported goods and a 25 percent  tariff on Canadian and Mexican imports with a 10 percent on Canadian energy resources. 

While the tariff on China went into effect on Tuesday, the tariffs on Canada and Mexico were postponed by a month following negotiations. Both Canada and Mexico have agreed to enhance border security to address the United States’ concerns.

 These tariffs will affect consumers, manufacturers, businesses, farmers, exporters, and trade partners (China, Mexico and Canada).  While they aim to boost domestic production, they risk causing inflation, job loss and economic slowdown.

For the consumers, these tariffs could mean that they will see higher prices, limited produce and reduced quality of goods. The effects of the tariffs would also be a potential for inflation to rise higher and impact consumer behavior.  

Farmers and exporters could be affected because they could see demand for their goods fall in countries where tariffs make their products more expensive. The increased price of these goods could affect whether or not consumers would want to buy the product. These tariffs are expected to disrupt supply chains in automotive manufacturing, consumer electronics, agriculture, food supply, retail, the energy sector, industrial and construction. 

While some of the benefits of these tariffs are boosting domestic manufacturing, reducing trade deficits, strengthening national security and encouraging fair trade practices, some companies could move production to foreign markets. The tariffs could backfire and cause economic slowdown. 

The United States would need to be very careful on how it chooses to implement these tariffs. While tariffs could strengthen and boost the economy, they could cause more harm than good if not careful.