Source: NC Newsline
Another Trump era has the potential to completely reshape the economy, as the incoming administration has promised tariffs on imports, large-scale deportations of immigrants, and cuts to government regulations.
Experts have warned that these Trump measures will be costly to Americans, stating that his proposals could raise home prices, rent, taxes, and goods.
The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that Trump’s promised policies would add $7.75 trillion in government debt over the next decade.
Once he takes office, Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on the United States’ biggest trading partners, Mexico, Canada, and China. According to an analysis from the Center for American Progress, harsh tariffs would raise annual costs for the average U.S. family by $1,300.
For the average American, the costs of electronics, clothing, and other consumer goods would surge as much as 45 percent, if tariffs hit China – resulting in TVs, headphones, laptops and tablets, video game consoles, and smartphones increasing by double digits.
“We know that if they apply tariffs on Chinese goods and Chinese footwear, it will hit working families the hardest,” Matt Priest, CEO of FDRA, told CBS.
As a result of tariffs on Canada, gas prices could shoot up 30 to 40 cents a gallon. Within as little as two days after the tariffs take effect, Americans will potentially see up to 70 cents, according to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy.
When it comes to affordable housing, tariffs could increase the cost of lumber and overall building materials. On top of the increased material costs, the discriminatory mass deportation policy would impact millions of construction workers.
“That’s a big, big concern,” Kurt Paulsen, professor of urban planning in the Department of Planning and Landscape Architecture at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, told NC Newsline. “A large share of labor in the construction industry obviously comes from immigrants. That is a huge issue for new construction and particularly new construction as it relates to affordable housing.”
According to the latest American Community Survey data, foreign-born construction workers made up 3 million of the 11.9 million people who worked in the construction industry in 2023.
“Side effects of a policy that restricts immigration and deports undocumented people likely would be upward pressures on labor costs and a detrimental effect on the nation’s potential economic growth rate,” wrote Jay Bryson and Michael Pugliese, Wells Fargo economists, in a research note.
On the federal level, Democrats have introduced a bill to rein in the executive’s ability to implement tariffs, citing the detrimental cost to working Americans and families.
“The American people have clearly and consistently said that costs are one of their top concerns,” Suzan DelBene, U.S. Representative from Washington said in a statement.
“Imposing sweeping tariffs on imported goods would raise prices on consumer products by thousands of dollars a year according to estimates. Not only would widespread tariffs drive up costs at home and likely send our economy into recession, but they would damage our trade relationships with allies and likely lead to significant retaliation, hurting American workers, farmers, and businesses.”
