April 4, 2025 Editor, The News-Gazette: Tariff talk is everywhere these days. As someone who teaches economics for a living, I automatically tune in. What I’m hearing worries me - there is a deep misunderstanding about how tariffs affect you and me.
The reality is that you and I, the “U.S. consumers” and “U.S. business owners,” are the ones who pay. Tariffs inevitably increase prices and cost jobs.
Take groceries. A 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports means Kroger pays 25% more for bananas from Mexico and beef from Canada. That 25% will get passed on to us. Kroger could buy bananas and beef from someone else, but it would be more expensive. That’s the reason they imported the goods in the first place - it was cheaper in Mexico and Canada. With tariffs, we’ll pay more for food.
And it’s not only groceries. U.S. manufacturers import raw materials. Think plastics from Canada. Tariffs means U.S. producers who make cars, houses, appliances, or milk jugs will be forced to raise prices to cover their costs. U.S. consumers will cut down on how much they buy. And, inevitably, U.S. workers will be laid off. When our trading partners impose retaliatory tariffs (already happening), prices will rise even higher, and more layoffs will be inevitable. We will take one more step toward a recession.
Tariffs are always bad economic policy. It’s much worse this time - we’re imposing tariffs on trade with so many countries, on so many goods, and at, gulp!, a 25%-30% rate — that’s unprecedented. It’s very bad news for each consumer and everyone with a job.
Please call/write your representatives in the Virginia General Assembly and in Congress. Tell them to fight these tariffs. Keep the pressure on. Tariffs may not seem a hot button issue, but they can and will break the backbone of the U.S. economy. TINNI SEN Rockbrdige County
