FACT SHEET: One Year Since “Liberation Day,” President Trump’s Tariffs Are Raising Costs For American Families
Last Updated: 4/2/26
- TRUMP’S TARIFFS, WHICH THE SUPREME COURT REJECTED, RAISED COSTS FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
- TRUMP’S TARIFFS STRAINED SMALL AND LARGE BUSINESSES, PUSHING PRICES HIGHER
- TRUMP’S TARIFFS DROVE MANUFACTURING LAYOFFS, DESPITE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CLAIMS THAT THEY WOULD BOLSTER U.S. MANUFACTURING
- TRUMP’S TARIFFS KEPT INFLATION RATES HIGH
- WHILE TRUMP’S TARIFFS HURT AMERICANS, REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND AND ARE BLINDLY SUPPORTING THEM
One year since President Trump’s tariff “liberation day,” American families are grappling with higher costs. While the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that these tariffs were unconstitutional in February 2026, the damage to the economy had already been done. Businesses raised prices to counteract higher costs, pushing already tight budgets to the brink, and despite the rollback, show no signs of returning to pre-tariff levels. Despite Trump’s claim that tariffs would drive a resurgence of American manufacturing, in reality, they strained small businesses and led to factory layoffs and closures across the country. And while tariffs are hurting American families, Republicans in Congress have repeatedly voiced their support for this Trump administration policy.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS, WHICH THE SUPREME COURT REJECTED, RAISED COSTS FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES
- On April 2, 2025, President Trump announced a universal 10% tariff on all imported goods to the U.S. and additional reciprocal duties on 60 nations that send the U.S. more goods than they import from U.S. manufacturers.
- These tariffs were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in February 2026.
- As of February 2026, the average American family has already paid more than $1,700 in tariff costs since President Trump took office.
- Americans paid more than $231 billion in total tariff costs between February 2026 and January 2026.
- The Budget Lab at Yale found that Trump’s tariff hikes will cause an additional 875,000 Americans to live in poverty in 2026, including 375,000 children.
- Trump’s tariffs are on track to cost the average American household $2,400 in 2025.
- Americans are paying 96% of Trump’s tariff charges, and foreign suppliers are overwhelmingly passing tariff costs to importers, resulting in higher prices for Americans.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS STRAINED SMALL AND LARGE BUSINESSES, PUSHING PRICES HIGHER
- More than 55% of business executives plan to raise prices by up to 15% over the next six months because of tariffs.
- 42% of U.S. small businesses called tariffs a “primary financial challenge” in 2025, according to a recent survey from the Federal Reserve.
- The average small business importer paid $306,000 more on tariffs between March 2025 and February 2026, triple the amount paid between March 2024 and February 2025 because of the Trump administration’s tariffs.
- Construction input prices rose by 0.7% in January 2026 compared to December 2025 because of tariffs on key materials.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS DROVE MANUFACTURING LAYOFFS, DESPITE PRESIDENT TRUMP’S CLAIMS THAT THEY WOULD BOLSTER U.S. MANUFACTURING
- Businesses are laying off workers because of uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs. The U.S. manufacturing sector alone lost 100,000 jobs between January 2025 and February 2026.
- Manufacturing employment has declined every month since Trump imposed widespread tariffs in April because U.S. manufacturers rely on imported intermediate goods to make finished products.
- The economy could have added an average of 19,000 more jobs each month from January to August 2025, without the direct effect of tariffs.
TRUMP’S TARIFFS KEPT INFLATION RATES HIGH
- Inflation is projected to rise above 4% by the end of 2026 because of high tariff rates.
- Inflation could have been one-third lower in 2025 without President Trump’s tariffs, according to a study from Duke University and the Federal Reserve Banks of Richmond and Atlanta.
WHILE TRUMP’S TARIFFS HURT AMERICANS, REPUBLICAN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE THEIR HEADS IN THE SAND AND ARE BLINDLY SUPPORTING THEM
- Rep. Juan Ciscomani admitted that tariffs would be “detrimental” to Arizonans, yet continued voting to uphold them.
- Rep. Zach Nunn supported Trump’s tariffs, calling them a “win for farmers” that will “bring down costs for everybody.”
- Rep. Bill Huizenga acknowledged Michiganders would face higher prices and that tariffs could create “headwinds” for manufacturing jobs while backing tariffs.
- Rep. Tom Barrett promised to protect Michigan farmers from tariffs but voted to uphold them.
- Rep. Chuck Edwards said he stood behind the president on tariffs.
- Rep. Rob Bresnahan said industry needed to “rip the bandaid off” and “persevere” in the face of tariffs.
- Rep. Scott Perry acknowledged tariffs would cause “market disruptions” but still defended them.
- Rep. Derrick Van Orden admitted tariffs were “going to be painful,” but said that “in order to get to the long term, you have to get through the short term.”
- Sen. Jon Husted said President Trump should be given “latitude” on tariffs, despite Americans feeling “pain,” and claimed that tariffs hadn’t “affected the economy negatively.”