Negative Impact of Sec. 301 Tariffs on Consumers, Businesses
AAFA, FDRA, NRF, RILA, USFIA Joint Study
- By [ Blake Harden ]
- Washington, DC
- 01/16/2023
According to the report, American businesses and consumers have been adversely affected by the imposition of the punitive tariffs that began in 2018. The report provides an in-depth assessment of the impacts of the Section 301 tariffs over the last four years on U.S. imports of apparel, footwear, travel goods and furniture imported from China. It is based on U.S. government data amplified by responses to a December 2022 survey of American companies sourcing those goods from China.
The study makes three key findings:
- The negative impact of the tariffs – higher costs and higher prices – fell on U.S. companies and American families;
- The tariffs have led to a host of significant indirect costs, including those associated with attempts to establish bifurcated supply chains; and
- Increased prices on consumer goods have had a greater negative impact on American households for which those goods represent greater shares of household income: households in the lowest 20% of income groups; minority-headed households, and households headed by individuals without a college education.
To put it in perspective, the tariffs most heavily impacted U.S. imports from China of waterproof footwear. The tariffs imposed an annual direct cost on U.S. importers of over $250 million, escalating every year to over $450 million in 2022. No footwear tariff exclusions were granted to mitigate the negative impacts of the tariffs on footwear sourcing companies. According to Mercatus Center, every one of the 442 footwear product exclusion requests filed was denied.
Access the study here, and additional findings on social media with #TariffsHurt.
Related, an International Trade Commission report from October 2022 highlighted that “the disproportionate impacts of tariffs on U.S. workers as consumers” including the “discriminatory effect on female workers, because tariff rates are much higher on women’s clothing than on men’s clothing.”
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Tags
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International Trade
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Public Policy
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Supporting Free Markets and Fostering Innovation
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China Trade Tariffs