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The Price of Protection: Who Really Signs the Check for U.S. Tariffs?

by Aisling Kung

Walking down the aisles of my local general store lately feels like dealing with the consequences of a silent war I never signed up for. The same items that we need daily are still there, but their prices have undergone a significant increase in price. There’s a common misconception that these rising costs are just how things are now, the product of inflation or rising costs of raw materials. But for many of us, the real issue is the tariff: a government-imposed tax on products brought in from overseas. While these are often framed as tools used for national security, in reality, they act as a mandatory surcharge paid by the local business at the port, a cost that almost inevitably ends up on our receipts at the cash register. The Section 301 tariffs, for example, were originally designed to protect American technology businesses from Chinese competition. They were created with good intentions for innovation, yet the heaviest burden has ended up landing on American families that cannot spare any more out of their budget.

This policy doesn’t just hurt what we bring in; it also affects what we try to send out. When the U.S. places a duty on foreign goods, trading partners like China counter by placing retaliatory tariffs on American-made items. Often, they target our heartland, placing steep taxes on American-made crops like soybeans, corn, and pork. For the farmers in our communities, this means losing access to the global markets they depend on to survive. It’s a situation where businesses lose and then lose even more: domestic businesses are forced to pay more to get the parts they need to build things, while simultaneously earning less when they try to sell those finished products abroad. Companies essentially are forced to pay to enter the trade market and lose money from it rather than profiting.

Though this modern era of trade tension began as a temporary investigation back in 2017, it has become a permanent aspect of our economy. As we move through 2026, these measures haven’t just stayed; they’ve escalated to include the very things we’ve been told are the future, from the chips that power our phones to electric vehicles that have been promised as the future of American transit to even the critical medical equipment used to save lives in hospitals. For manufacturers, this is a constant headache. According to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) Q2 2025 Manufacturers’ Outlook, 66.1% of manufacturers surveyed reported increases in raw materials. Many have tried to pivot by nearshoring in Mexico or moving production to Southeast Asia, but these shifts are rarely seamless. Often, these efforts prove futile. Products are assembled in a third country using the same expensive components, adding new logistical costs that eventually trickle down to consumers.

These tariffs do not only affect manufacturers and businesses; they impact the average consumer as well. Prices skyrocket as a result of tariffs that are placed on raw materials and these increased costs are most often passed down to consumers. Research from the Federal Reserve Board confirms this, stating that, “In both periods, we find that US import tariffs led to a statistically significant increase in consumer goods prices. For the 2018-19 tariffs, our local-projections approach reveals that tariff changes were passed through fully and quickly—within two months of tariff implementation—to consumer goods prices.” While manufacturers deal with the initial costs of tariffs, they must maintain high profit margins, and in doing so, cause large price increases for consumers to face.

Ultimately, these costs are rarely absorbed by the corporations themselves; they reappear in the form of a regressive tax–a cruel reality where those with the least are forced to pay the largest share of their already low income to support national trade goals. When a family spends a larger percentage of their paycheck on basic apparel and school essentials, a 10% or 20% price hike isn’t just a statistic—it could mean a missed bill or a tighter grocery budget. A recent report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee suggest the average American family is shelling out over $1,700 a year just to cover these trade barriers. In 2026, the real truth of tariff policy isn’t found in a government press release; it’s found in the too-high prices of products that millions of Americans need daily and can’t afford because of extra tariff costs.

For my family, this isn’t a theoretical debate—it’s a reality that millions of American families face daily. We’re a moderate-income household, and we feel every spike. While inflation has already made the weekly trip to Aldi a stressful experience, the specific weight of these tariffs is most obvious at places like Walmart and Costco. Even at Costco, where bulk-buying usually offers a bit of a shield, the tariff tax has broken through. Seeing ordinary items that we use daily jump fifty to a hundred dollars is quite a shock. It’s a stark reminder that while the debates over Section 301 happen in the halls of Washington, the actual consequences are being felt most by every family at the checkout line.

The Section 301 tariffs have affected every corner of life as an American citizen, regardless of whether you are a business owner, manufacturer, or average American shopper. While at first, increased tariffs only attack prices of raw materials for manufacturers, these costs directly impact the price of everyday goods that citizens use daily. My family is not alone in feeling the weight of heightened tariffs; millions of working-class families struggle with budgeting and keeping enough food on the table for their children. True national security shouldn’t come at the expense of the average shopper. Until policy shifts to reflect the reality of the global supply chain, Americans will continue to be forced to fund this silent war through stress over bills and prices of everyday items.

Works Cited

State of Tariffs: February 21, 2026. (2026). The Budget Lab at Yale.
https://budgetlab.yale.edu/research/state-tariffs-february-21-2026

York, E., & Durante, A. (2025, August 22). Tracking the Economic Impact of the Trump Tariffs. Tax Foundation.
https://taxfoundation.org/research/all/federal/trump-tariffs-trade-war/

Bown, C. P. (2025, August 27). US-China trade war tariffs: An up-to-date chart. Peterson Institute for International Economics.
https://www.piie.com/research/piie-charts/2019/us-china-trade-war-tariffs-date-chart

Hauk, W. (2018). Trump’s $60 billion in China tariffs will create more problems than they solve.
https://doi.org/10.64628/aai.h4qsnk47f

Franklin, E. (2025, August 25). Tariff Impact Manufacturing | Raw Material Costs | Manufacturing CPA. McKonly & Asbury.
https://macpas.com/tariffs-and-the-manufacturing-industry-navigating-a-shifting-landscape/

2025 Second Quarter Manufacturers’ Outlook Survey. (2025, May 30). NAM.
https://nam.org/2025-second-quarter-manufacturers-outlook-survey/

McCance, M. (2025, March 11). Supply Chains Explained: How They Work and Why Tariffs Can Strain Them – Darden Report Online. Darden Report Online.
https://news.darden.virginia.edu/2025/03/11/supply-chains-explained-how-they-work-and-why-tariffs-can-strain-them/

Bradley, N. (2025, April 15). Small Business FAQ: What You Need to Know About Tariffs. Uschamber.com.
https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/small-business-faq-what-you-need-to-know-about-tariffs

Rowling, S. (2026, February 19). Tariffs Explained: The 5 Ways They Hit American Consumers and Investors. Morningstar, Inc.
https://www.morningstar.com/personal-finance/tariffs-explained-5-ways-they-hit-american-consumers-investors

States, U. (2026, February 20). UPDATED DATA: American Families Have Already Paid More Than $1,700 Each in Tariff Costs Since Trump Entered Office – UPDATED DATA: American Families Have Already Paid More Than $1,700 Each in Tariff Costs Since Trump Entered Office – United States Joint Economic Committee. Senate.gov.
https://www.jec.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/democrats/2026/2/updated-data-american-families-have-already-paid-more-than-1-700-each-in-tariff-costs-since-trump-entered-office

Dvorkin, M. A., Leibovici, F., & Santacreu, A. M. (2025, October 16). How Tariffs Are Affecting Prices in 2025. Stlouisfed.org; Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
https://www.stlouisfed.org/on-the-economy/2025/oct/how-tariffs-are-affecting-prices-2025

Minton, R., & Somale, M. (2025, May 9). Detecting Tariff Effects on Consumer Prices in Real Time. Federalreserve.gov.
https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/notes/feds-notes/detecting-tariff-effects-on-consumer-prices-in-real-time-20250509.html