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Tariffs

Tariffs are taxes on imported goods. In practice, importers often pass along the cost of tariffs to consumers in the form of higher prices. Tariffs can be an important remedy to protect American manufacturers and their workers from the unfair and predatory export practices of other countries and to safeguard the economic and national security of the country. But tariffs are also regressive, affecting low- and middle-income families to a greater extent than wealthier Americans. When applied recklessly, tariffs raise prices for everyday Americans while failing to advance U.S. interests and harming the American manufacturers who rely on imported inputs.

The Center for American Progress recognizes that tariffs can be used strategically and, when imposed, should be coordinated with national investment and other economic policy tools to revitalize the country’s industrial base. Tariffs can also be used to provide preferential market access to the highest-standard exporters, rewarding firms that take strong climate action and support workers’ rights. Tariffs are also part of a broader trade enforcement toolkit, which should be updated to reflect the realities of 21st century trade.

Related Departments
Economic Policy
National Security and International Policy

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How Donald Trump’s Trade Folly Is Costing Americans In the News

How Donald Trump’s Trade Folly Is Costing Americans

In an op-ed published by The National Interest, Ryan Mulholland describes Trump administration’s strong-arm approach to international trade policy and how his tariffs are costing the American people.

The National Interest

Ryan Mulholland

A Year in Review: How the Trump Administration’s Economic Policies Made Life Less Affordable for Americans Article
An American flag hangs in the background as Donald Trump enters the stage for his inauguration on January 20, 2025.

A Year in Review: How the Trump Administration’s Economic Policies Made Life Less Affordable for Americans

The first year of the Trump administration has left Americans struggling with increased costs of living due to its unprecedented tariffs, fewer job opportunities, and more expensive health care and utilities.

Kennedy Andara, Amina Khalique, Natalie Baker, 3 More Sara Estep, Natasha Murphy, Akshay Thyagarajan

The Trump Administration Continues To Demonstrate Its Failure To Appreciate the Plight of American Farmers Article
A combine harvests soybeans in Kentucky.

The Trump Administration Continues To Demonstrate Its Failure To Appreciate the Plight of American Farmers

China’s boycott of American soybeans may be resolved, but the episode exposed deeper, longer-term challenges that cannot be solved with a one-time bailout or a purchase commitment by foreign buyers that can be turned off at any time.

Ryan Mulholland, Mark Haggerty

New Trump Administration Policies Will Decrease Average Incomes for All Americans Except the Top 1 Percent Article
U.S. President Donald Trump greets guests on the South Lawn of the White House

New Trump Administration Policies Will Decrease Average Incomes for All Americans Except the Top 1 Percent

New policies in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, paired with the Trump administration’s tariffs, will leave the bottom 99 percent of Americans with less after-tax-and-transfer income by 2027, while the top 1 percent benefit—per combined scores from nonpartisan analysts.

Corey Husak

Is This What Winning Looks Like? Report

Is This What Winning Looks Like?

The Trump administration’s brazen unilateral trade war has put the future of America’s trade partnerships in doubt, made a recession more likely, and hurt American workers and families.

Ryan Mulholland

Mayhem on Main Street: Trump’s Attacks on Small Business Break the Back of Local Economies Past Event

Mayhem on Main Street: Trump’s Attacks on Small Business Break the Back of Local Economies

Please join the Center for American Progress, in partnership with Small Business Majority, for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE’s cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans; this event will focus on how cuts to assistance programs, along with uncertainty and economic pressure imposed by President Trump’s tariffs, are harming the backbone of America’s economy: small businesses.

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