Tariffs

Trump's Tariffs Will Cost Each American Household $900 in 2026

The president’s protectionism has constituted the largest tax increase since 1993.

J.D. Tuccille | 7.31.2026 7:00 AM

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(Illustration: Midjourney)

Despite slapdowns by the courts, President Donald Trump's love affair with protectionism continues. In recent weeks, he's authorized additional tariffs against countries supposedly using "forced labor," slapped 50-percent duties on some imports from Canada, and may soon receive a bipartisan grant of enhanced trade powers from lawmakers seeking to punish nations that trade with Russia. That's all unfortunate, because barriers to the free exchange of goods have already imposed high costs on Americans.

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Tariffs Hike Taxes

"In 2025, the Trump tariffs amounted to an average tax increase of $1,000 per US household," write Erica York and Alex Durante of the Tax Foundation. "We estimate that the tariffs both announced and imposed, including the Section 122 tariff, Section 232 tariffs, Section 301 tariffs, and Section 338 tariff on Canada, will increase taxes per US household by $900 in 2026."

The somewhat lower additional cost of trade protectionism on Americans projected for 2026 relative to last year comes courtesy of the changing legal landscape, not because of any loss of resolve on the part of the Trump administration. The sweeping tariffs imposed last year under the alleged authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were voided in February when the Supreme Court........

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