The Tariff Issue and the Midterms

Democrat activists hope to make the midterms all about Trump’s tariff policy. But there are a lot of misunderstandings here.

John F. Di Leo | October 21, 2026

Democrat activists hope to make the 2026 elections all about President Trump’s tariff policy, which is understandable, considering how unpopular the Democrat party’s own platform has become in recent years.  

But there are a lot of misunderstandings about international trade, so let’s take a look at a few of them as Election Day approaches. 

Q: What are duties and tariffs? 

A: Most countries assess taxes on most goods coming in from other countries.  There’s a basic import duty, usually a percentage of the overseas vendor’s sale price, and then there are sometimes other tariffs on top of that.  The two terms are used almost interchangeably; in the USA, the basic duty, which is commodity-based, ranges from zero to about twenty percent, and usually averages around 5 percent.  Most of the other taxes on imports are usually just called tariffs.   

These are almost all “ad valorem” (percentages of value), based on the price that the USA importer pays to the foreign exporter.  Generally, the USA charges lower duties than most other countries.  President Trump has not changed our duty rates at all; he has focused on implementing additional tariffs to protect our manufacturing sector, especially against China. 

Q: But aren’t these 20-percent, and 30-percent, and 50-percent tariffs huge hits to the American consumer? 

A: Well, they would be, if the consumer were paying such high rates.  But the consumer doesn’t pay that kind of money.  Let’s remember how duties and tariffs are crafted. 

Picture an American company that designs a product — like a washing machine or power drill or vacuum cleaner — and then selects a Chinese contract assembler to make it. 

If you hear that the tariffs on these Chinese products are 30 or 40 or 50 percent, you’re being led to assume that’s a third or a half of the price you’re paying when you buy the item at Walmart or Home Depot or Best Buy.  But it’s not.  It doesn’t work that way. 

The American importer is paying that 30, 40, or even 50 percent on his........

© American Thinker