What product prices could tariffs affect?

President Trump's tariff plan may raise the cost of food, gas, pharmaceuticals and more

Male grocery shopper looking at the contents of his receipt in disbelief
'Fresh produce, much of which is imported from Mexico, is one of the first categories where shoppers might notice an uptick in prices'
(Image credit: Liubomyr Vorona / Getty Images)

As a tax on imported goods, tariffs imposed by the U.S. may be intended to place a burden on other countries. But all too often, according to economists, American consumers will end up paying a price, too.

How does that figure? Well, "tariffs are paid by the domestic companies importing foreign goods and materials, and those companies tend to raise consumer prices to cover higher import costs," said NerdWallet. As an example of how much those incremental increases can add up, "an analysis by the nonpartisan Tax Foundation found that if the tariffs Trump threatened in recent days are imposed, it would amount to an average tax increase of more than $800 per U.S. household in 2025," said NPR.

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Becca Stanek, The Week US

Becca Stanek has worked as an editor and writer in the personal finance space since 2017. She previously served as a deputy editor and later a managing editor overseeing investing and savings content at LendingTree and as an editor at the financial startup SmartAsset, where she focused on retirement- and financial-adviser-related content. Before that, Becca was a staff writer at The Week, primarily contributing to Speed Reads.