If you want to know who is paying for the tariffs that President Trump has imposed on China, Mexico, Canada and others, just pull out your own wallet. Other countries don’t bear the economic brunt of raised tariffs. We, American taxpayers, pay.

Not only do we pay when we buy all the products we import from these countries, but we also pay when prices rise on American-made alternatives, in response to the price increases for imported goods.

Tariffs and international trade are confusing subjects, so let’s go through what we need to know in order to understand what is happening to the economy and whether tariffs are a good idea.

A tariff is a tax on imports — both a source of tax revenue and an indirect means of regulating trade. For example, the U.S. has a 2.5 percent import tariff on foreign passenger cars. So if I purchase a $100,000 imported car, then I, as an American citizen, must pay the $2,500 tax for a total of $102,500.

In other words, by choosing an import, I am shouldering the extra tariff expense, not the country I bought it from.

This doesn't go only for goods manufactured abroad, either. Tariffs will also prompt U.S. manufacturers who use parts from China or raw materials from Canada to raise their prices on the goods they then sell on to U.S. consumers. And........

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