The Hidden Cost of Tariffs: What Consumers Need to Know
- On the Money Magazine
- 2 hours ago
- 2 min read
Sarinah Aman, Northside College Prep, Sophomore, Spring 2025
In America, if you look at the items nearest to you, it probably doesn’t say “made in the US.” Most goods are imported from countries like China, Mexico, and Canada. Since November 2024 there has been much discussion about tariffs, but there has also been misinformation regarding their impacts. In short, tariffs are a tax the federal government places on imported goods that vendors must pay to be able to sell the product in that country.
Tariffs' benefits include increasing domestic manufacturing and stopping reliance on other countries, but these benefits tend to be long term. In the short term, tariffs have the ability to increase the prices of all goods, even those manufactured domestically. If someone was importing paper into the US, but now has to pay an additional 25% on every import, the seller would have to increase the prices of paper for consumers in order to offset the additional tax. Laurel Wamsley from NPR says, “The new 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico will make a real dent in American’s wallets.” (Wamsley, 2025). Domestically produced items will also be affected. Oranges grown in Florida, in theory, should stay the same price, but the tractor was assembled in China. The orange company will end up having to pay more to grow the oranges, therefore increasing the prices for consumers.
The current office has said they will “...impose tariffs between 10-25% on all goods imported from Mexico, Canada and China,” (York, 2025). How does this affect the average consumer? Most likely, prices of goods like gas prices, groceries and electronics, which are primarily imported, will increase. Emina Alijanovic, a Chicagoland construction company owner, says that the threat of tariffs impacts the price of all materials because they are shipped from Canada. She says tariffs will, “...drive up costs…and put pressure on profit margins.” She says that for her company to stay afloat, “... clients will see prices that are a lot higher than they used to be.” Similarly, Omowole Casselle, vice president of the Xchange Program at SDI, a tech investment firm, and avid investor, agrees and urges people to get ahead. Even though we can’t control the government or tariffs, we can control how we respond to them, by staying informed and thinking ahead.
Works Cited:
People Cited:
Emina Alijanovic, co-owner of Btk Design And Construction
Omowale Casselle, vice president of the Xchange Program at SDI, a tech investment firm, and personal investor
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