By Wayne Watts
For the “Progressive Views” column, Boerne Star, April 27, 2025
There are many words to describe President Trump’s tariffs on America’s consumers–for that is who will pay them–but “terrific” is decidedly not the correct one. These tariffs constitute an enormous tax on Americans and will result in higher prices, reduced choice, and likely loss of jobs in America.
Who says the tariffs are less than terrific? Let’s start with President Trump himself, who in a rare moment of honesty, said that he did not care if the tariffs resulted in higher automobile prices. This blunt admission is not made better for those trying to buy a car by President Trump’s belief that car companies will somehow magically build more cars in America.
Even if the manufacturers contemplate making more cars in America, analysts of all stripes acknowledge that it would take years to build plants and alter the existing supply chain built over several decades. With the small margins on cars, as opposed to higher priced trucks and full-sized SUVs, analysts project fewer cars will be available. The relatively higher U.S. wages is estimated to make the cars too expensive for the American consumer. These lower priced models will simply not be available anymore.
A more accurate word than “terrific” is TAX. “Tariffs are a tax on consumers, and I’m not a fan of jacking up taxes on American consumers,” Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas told Fox Business’ Larry Kudlow in a televised interview.
The U.S. stock market made a clear statement on how “terrific” these tariffs are dropping by 1600 points the day after the announcement, the largest one-day decline since March 2020. Stocks lost about $3 trillion in market value, according to the Wall Street Journal. At one point, the markets had declined by over $6 trillion. While some of this loss has been erased, the market is still down substantially since these tariffs were announced.
And whose ox is gored by these market declines? Let’s start with everyone who owns a 401(k) account, particularly those nearing retirement who may need those funds long before the market recovers this massive destruction of value. Or how about anyone lucky enough to have a pension provided by their employer? Pension plans are heavily invested in these now less valuable stocks and bonds to support pension payments. In short, the average American worker who works for a living and plans for their well-earned retirement is already paying a price.
Compounding these losses is the dysfunctional way tariffs are “on again, off again.” Are the tariffs real or just a negotiating ploy? Are they going to go in effect or not? Indeed, President Trump’s actions in announcing tariffs, then delaying them, saying “no exceptions” and then announcing exceptions create market uncertainty and make it impossible for businesses to make informed judgements about the tariff’s impacts. If the tariffs are temporary or are only a negotiation ploy, why invest at all based on the tariffs? No consumer benefit can result from this uncertainty.
This on/off approach also reinforces the very serious negative consequences of the tariffs themselves. Shortly after the tariffs were announced, various commentators estimated that the ultimate tariff impact would be to double the cost and therefore the retail price of an iPhone. Similar impacts were predicted on other electronic products.
This then led the Trump Administration to announce on Friday, April 11 that mobile phones and electronic items would be exempt from the tariffs according to a bulletin released by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. On Sunday, April 13, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik said the exception is only temporary. To add to the confusion a few hours later President Trump said there really are no exemptions; these devices WILL be assessed the tariffs in a different “bucket.” More uncertainty, less investment. Less investment, fewer jobs.
These tariffs harm every American consumer, but particularly the hourly and middle-class worker, with higher prices. The tariffs harm the average American worker planning for retirement and those already retired, by destroying the value of the very investments relied on by those workers. No, there is nothing “terrific” about these tariffs or the devastating effects they are already having on the American consumer.
To find out more about how to get involved with the Kendall County Democratic Party, visit www.kcdems.us.
Wayne Watts is a local Democrat.
