What will get more expensive now that Trump imposed his tariffs

Need a new computer, television or phone? You might want to consider getting one now.

Need a new computer, television or phone? You might want to consider getting one now. That’s because President Donald Trump enacted a new 10% across-the-board tariff on Chinese goods Tuesday morning. Economists warn that tariffs hurt American businesses and consumers, many of whom are still reeling from the sharp rise in inflation in recent years. Tariffs are paid by US importers, not the countries at which the tariffs are aimed, as Trump has claimed. Those costs are often passed on to retailers and eventually American consumers. Unlike Mexico and Canada, which largely avoid tariffs on exports to the United States because of the current USMCA trade agreement that Trump signed in his first term, a wide array of Chinese goods already faced tariffs before Tuesday. (Trump also ordered 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods but delayed them until March 1). In addition to the new 10% tariff, Chinese goods are subject to additional tariffs: a 100% tariff on electric vehicles and 25% tariff on steel and aluminum products. But several items had been exempt from tariffs. One of the biggest exemptions had been consumer electronics. But that exemption is no longer in place with the new across-the-board tariffs. That matters because consumer electronics are among the top goods the US imported from China last year, according to federal trade data.