BACKFIRE: Trump's tariff war has already cost Americans over $13 billion

President Donald Trump's ill-advised trade wars with America's trading partners may have cost U.S. taxpayers and corporations over $13 billion, reports Bloomberg News.

The report states that data submitted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that "more than $13 billion in duties imposed by the Trump administration were assessed on imported goods as of Dec. 18," but that actual receipt could "lag and be lower" due to refunds and other factors.

According to the report, Trump has boasted often that the burden of paying for the tariffs would be borne by China and other trading partners, but that trade economists said the data does not match the rhetoric.

According to Bloomberg, the administration's narrative about other countries being hurt by the tariffs is "misleading" and that "ultimately U.S. businesses and consumers could pay through higher costs, "

“Tariffs on Chinese imports are paid by Americans, not by the Chinese or their government. The President’s tariffs are simply a #tax on American consumers,’’ tweeted Johns Hopkins University applied economics professor Steve Hanke, who served in the Reagan White House.

Customs and Border Protection collect the tariffs with the assessed amount now "topping $13 billion, with $8 billion coming from the duties on Chinese goods."

Despite Trump tweeting, "... the United States Treasury has taken in MANY billions of dollars from the Tariffs we are charging China and other countries that have not treated us fairly," the head of the conservative and business-friendly U.S. Chamber of Commerce begged to differ.

“Let me be very clear: Tariffs are taxes paid by American families and American businesses -- not by foreigners,’’ bluntly stated Thomas Donohue, said in his annual state of American business address last week.

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