When President Donald Trump
unveiled his vast tariff regime targeting imports from almost every country in the world last year, he promised foreign countries would pay the levies and that Americans would reap the rewards. How’s that work’n out for them?
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But…but a new
study published Monday by researchers at the Kiel Institute, an independent economic research institute based in Germany, found that American consumers and importers are paying for the
tariffs by an overwhelming margin.
“Foreign exporters absorb only about 4% of the tariff burden—
the remaining 96% is passed onto U.S. buyers” the authors of the research wrote in a study, which analyzed $4 trillion of shipments between January 2024 and November 2025.
The research found that exporters to the U.S. raised prices to account for the tariffs, or kept prices the same while reducing shipments. The study concludes that the $200 billion increase in customs revenue that the U.S. government raised in 2025 was a “tax paid almost entirely by Americans.”
Trump unveiled his sweeping “Liberation Day” tariffs, a signature economic policy that defined his first year in office, on April 2, 2025. The tariffs included a baseline 10% tariff on almost all imports, higher country-specific rates for many trading partners, and additional sector-specific tariffs on autos, steel, and aluminum. Several sporadic tariff announcements followed over the year
depending on whom Trump thought slighted him, what kind of mode he was in, how spicy his supper was, or if he had to hit the crapper at 3am or not…
Researchers at the Kiel Institute specifically examined Brazil and India, both of which faced sharp tariff increases in August 2025, and in both cases, exporters did not “
eat” the tariffs—a claim Trump often made.
The researchers argued that this could be because exporters found competitive markets elsewhere, or because they “believe tariffs may be temporary or subject to negotiation,” in which case they’d have less incentive to cut costs to maintain volume.
In the immediate future, it said consumers are the “ultimate bearers of the burden.”
A new study from the Kiel Institute found that foreign exporters only absorb 4% of tariff burden.
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When are those Mid-Terms again? Not until November? At least they’re in early November I guess.
is obviously LGBTQSR2D2 inspired.
