New research from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a European research institute for global economic affairs, finds that contrary to U.S. government rhetoric, the cost of U.S. import tariffs are not borne by foreign exporters. Instead, they hit the American economy itself: Importers and consumers in the U.S. bear 96 percent of the tariff burden.
Although the U.S. government intended the tariffs to target foreign businesses, the policy actually harms the domestic economy.
“The tariffs are an own goal,” said Julian Hinz, research director at the Kiel Institute and one of the authors of the study. “The claim that foreign countries pay these tariffs is a myth. The data show the opposite: Americans are footing the bill.” Read more