Number Theory: What Trump’s tariffs mean for US

The Trump administration’s latest wave of tariffs marks a sharp escalation in US protectionism. Announced on April 2, the new duties target a wide range of imports and build on years of rising trade barriers. While pitched as a defence of American industry, the immediate fallout will likely be felt by US consumers in the form of higher prices. While increasing imports hurt the US in areas such as manufacturing employment, they did usher in an era of cheaper goods. For example, an analysis published in the Wall Street Journal on March 30 said that Chinese imports between 1998 and 2014 in the US brought down inflation for imported goods by 0.6 percentage points a year. How will the latest tariffs affect US consumers? Here is what the data shows.