“Foreign exporters did not meaningfully reduce their prices in response to US tariff increases,” a report released Monday by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said. “The $200 billion surge in customs revenue represents $200 billion extracted from American businesses and households.” “The tariff functions not as a tax on foreign producers, but as a consumption tax on Americans,” Kiel researchers Julian Hinz, Aaron Lohmann, Hendrik Mahlkow and Anna Vorwig wrote.
  • baguette@piefed.socialEnglish
    8·
    15 hours ago

    While US citizens pay for the tariffs, it may well hurt producers of imported goods.

    “The adjustment occurs through reduced trade volumes , not price concessions,” according to the Kiel paper. “Given the choice between maintaining margins on reduced sales or slashing margins to maintain volume, most exporters apparently prefer the former.