Tariffs Explained: What They Might and Might Not Mean for Everyday Prices

President Donald Trump has made tariffs the key economic buzzword as he’s reentered the White House, alarming economists everywhere but leaving the less-informed among us to ask: what do tariffs actually do? While Trump deployed tariffs in his first term, notably against China, he ramped up his plans for them much more on the 2024 campaign trail, promising steeper 60% tariffs against China and a universal 20% tariff on all imports into the US. “Tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented,” Trump said during a Michigan campaign stop last year. More recently, he called himself “Tariff Man” in a post…