'Hurts the consumer': Companies planning substantial price hikes in anticipation of Trump tariffs

30 October 2024

Vice President Kamala Harris has been warning that if former President Donald Trump wins the United States' 2024 presidential election and follows through on his promise to impose substantial new tariffs, consumers will suffer major price hikes.

The increase cost of imported goods, Harris warns, will amount to a new "national sales tax for the American people."

Reporting by the Washington's Post's David J. Lynch bears out what Harris has been saying.

In an article published on October 30, Lynch reports that "producers of a range of items, including clothing, footwear, baby products, auto parts and hardware, say they will pass along the cost of the tariffs to their American customers."

Timothy Boyle, chief executive of Columbia Sportswear, told the Post, "We're set to raise prices. We're buying stuff today for delivery next fall. So we're just going to deal with it, and we'll just raise the prices.… It's going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable for Americans."

Similarly, AutoZone CEO Philip Daniele told the Post, "If we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer. We'll generally raise prices ahead of — we know what the tariffs will be — we generally raise prices ahead of that."

Tweeting Lynch's article, SiriusXM host Michelangelo Signorile posted, "This should be leading the top of the news."

Michael Wieder, co-founder of Lalo, warns that new tariffs will be terrible for consumers.

Wieder told the Post, "It just hurts the consumer. Straight up. Ten times out of 10. Exporting countries do not pay the tariffs. It's just that simple.”

Read the Washington Post's full report at this link (subscription required).

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