{"id":273,"date":"2025-01-11T16:06:41","date_gmt":"2025-01-11T16:06:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/01\/11\/americans-stocking-up-on-foreign-goods-before-trump-tariffs-a-sense-of-urgency-us-economy-the-guardian\/"},"modified":"2025-01-11T16:06:41","modified_gmt":"2025-01-11T16:06:41","slug":"americans-stocking-up-on-foreign-goods-before-trump-tariffs-a-sense-of-urgency-us-economy-the-guardian","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/01\/11\/americans-stocking-up-on-foreign-goods-before-trump-tariffs-a-sense-of-urgency-us-economy-the-guardian\/","title":{"rendered":"Americans stocking up on foreign goods before Trump tariffs: \u2018a sense of urgency\u2019 | US economy – The Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Tablets and appliances made in China, hybrid cars built in Canada<\/a>, European wine. As Donald Trump\u2019s second inauguration as president quickly approaches, Americans are stocking up on goods in anticipation of tariffs Trump plans to place on imports, according to a Guardian reader poll.<\/p>\n

Since the election, Trump has promised to immediately impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports, along with increasing existing tariffs on Chinese imports by 10%. On the campaign trail, Trump said he would put tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imports.<\/p>\n

Economists widely agree that prices will increase with tariffs. Though the policy is meant to encourage American companies to produce their goods domestically, the global supply chain has become so entangled and interconnected that for many companies, the most simple thing will be to pass the cost of tariffs on to consumers \u2013 executives from multiple companies, including Walmart, Columbia Sportswear and AutoZone, have said they will do as much.<\/p>\n

In a November Harris\/Guardian poll<\/a>, nearly half (44%) of respondents said they were planning purchases before Trump entering office, while nearly two-thirds (62%) said they were at least adjusting their financial plans for next year.<\/p>\n

The Guardian asked readers whether they had made or were planning to make purchases in anticipation of Trump\u2019s tariffs. Dozens responded with what they had bought with inauguration day in mind.<\/p>\n

Many readers said they made major electronics purchases in anticipation of new tariffs against China. According to the Consumer Technology Association, a 60% tariff on Chinese imports could push up prices<\/a> for laptops and tablets by 46% and smartphones by 26%.<\/p>\n

Even though many said they would have preferred to hold off on making bigger purchases, many felt the pressure of looming tariffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy wife and I are planning to purchase new Apple iPads,\u201d said Bob McMahon of West Chester, Pennsylvania. \u201cThese are purchases we\u2019ve been considering for some time, but we now feel a sense of urgency since Trump\u2019s tariffs will likely increase prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Household appliances, such as washers and dryers and kitchen appliances, have also been top of mind. The National Retail Federation estimates<\/a> consumers would pay an additional $6.4-$10.9bn on appliances with tariffs.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are purchasing a new washer and dryer \u2026 which we have put off due to medical bills,\u201d said Liza Gilbert of La Crosse, Wisconsin. \u201cIt will be even harder to afford in January.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those who were planning home renovations have been buying construction materials in advance of tariffs, particularly ones placed on Canada that could affect material like imported wood for cabinets.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy partner is laying in supplies and materials for a new roof we had planned for the spring,\u201d said Jen Thomas of West Virginia. \u201cWhile the rush of a second Trump presidency is still exciting for many West Virginians, my partner and I are neither excited nor optimistic about the next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"Kitchen<\/picture><\/div>
<\/svg><\/span>\u2018Others have stocked up on food that can last on their shelves.\u2019<\/span> Photograph: Olga Peshkova\/Getty Images\/iStockphoto<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic still in recent memory for many, people are also stocking up on essentials, including food and toilet paper, with the uncertainty of future prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I stocked up on toilet paper and flour early in the pandemic, so thought we\u2019d be clever and try to get ahead of the looming price hikes due to Trump\u2019s tariffs,\u201d said Molly Heath, of Indianapolis, Indiana. \u201cLessons learned, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

Heath added that upon doing more research, her family concluded that it would be hard to \u201cget ahead of\u201d the tariffs. \u201cWe decided it would be wiser to revisit the household budget and prepare for a general cost-of-living increase,\u201d Heath said.<\/p>\n

Others have stocked up on food that can last on their shelves.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything will go through the roof when [Trump] takes office,\u201d said Carol Lee Wood of Virginia, who said she has made more purchases of beans, rice, powdered milk and freeze-dried fruits and vegetables. \u201cI wish I could stockpile gasoline and avocados!\u201d<\/p>\n

A few readers said they had recently purchased hybrid cars, anticipating that Trump would end Joe Biden\u2019s electric vehicle tax credit.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a 2025 hybrid SUV five days after the election,\u201d said Ellie from Maine, who did not provide her last name. \u201cIt was the last one on the lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates<\/a> that consumer prices could rise 1.4% to 5.1% if Trump were to implement his broad tariff plan, which would be the equivalent of an additional $1,900 to $7,600 per household.<\/p>\n

It would be a painful uptick in prices for American consumers, many of whom are still reeling from inflation seen in the years after the pandemic. Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 and has since come down to below 3%.<\/p>\n

Despite this concern from consumers, Trump has continued to insist that he will institute tariffs as soon as he enters office, carrying out a promise he made on the campaign trail. In his 9 December interview<\/a> with Meet the Press, Trump said that tariffs \u201ccost Americans nothing\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tariffs \u201cmade this country money. And we never really got the chance to go all out because we had to fight Covid in the last part,\u201d Trump said, referencing his first term. \u201cWe did it very successfully.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tablets and appliances made in China, hybrid cars built in Canada, European wine. As Donald Trump\u2019s second inauguration as president quickly approaches, Americans are stocking up on goods in anticipation of tariffs Trump plans to place on imports, according to a Guardian reader poll. Since the election, Trump has promised to immediately impose a 25% […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":274,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/274"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}