President Donald Trump's mandate from American voters to lower the cost of living — starting with eggs, for instance — has taken a far back seat to his desire to wield the power of tariffs on friends and foes alike.
On Tuesday, 25 percent tariffs went into effect on all Mexican and Canadian goods coming into the United States, a move that drew a sharp rebuke from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. And as CNN's Dana Bash pointed out on Tuesday's Inside Politics, American consumers will be some of the major victims of these policies.
"$1,200 a year, for example, is one estimate that is going to be the increase in prices for the average consumer. This is what Donald Trump ran on, on making the crisis of affordability better. So far, it ain't happening," Bash said.
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"Without question," added Jeff Zeleny. "And even if this was, you know, this is not happening in a vacuum. I mean, even if it was just this, it would be significant for prices. But it's not. I mean, high prices on goods are already one of the central challenges of the administration. That was yesterday, never mind today. Not just eggs and other things, but there is a sense of of consumer confidence has been shaky. And this is only adding to that fact. The president talks a lot, and I expect we'll hear him tonight talking again, about all the battleground states he won. He talks about Wisconsin. He talks about Michigan. He talks about Pennsylvania. In all of those states and more, they are going to feel this most acutely."
Shortly after the tariffs went into effect against Canada, the stock markets reacted wildly, immediately dropping nearly 700 points.
"What you're seeing now is mostly in response to this trade war," reported Business & politics correspondent Vanessa Yurkevich."This trade war has erased all gains in the markets since President Trump was elected. And what you are seeing is investors very nervous about what this trade war means for prices, how consumers will react, and then ultimately, what kind of a business outlook are we seeing because of this trade war?"
Yurkevich said that companies like Target, Best Buy, and Walmart have already announced they will be raising prices.
"And for the average consumer, just taking a step back here outside of Wall Street, on Main Street, we know that consumer confidence has fallen. we know that inflation is heating up and tariffs are certainly adding another element of uncertainty for the average American," she said.
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