According to The Wall Street Journal, citing a forecast by Moody's, the import tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China, approved by US President Donald Trump, will mark the first step towards rising prices on the most popular goods in the United States. So what are ordinary Americans supposed to do? How will they be able to afford cars, smartphones, and laptops from these countries now?
Moody's analysts are confident that the newly implemented tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China will become a ticking time bomb for Americans. According to experts, the US automotive and electronics markets will be the hardest hit by Trump's trade policies. Tariffs on Chinese goods will lead to higher prices for smartphones imported from the Asian giant. These measures will also affect the supply of products made by the Chinese manufacturer for American company Apple. As a result, the price of such gadgets in the United States may increase by 6%.
The tariffs imposed on imports will also raise the cost of laptops and game consoles. Prices in the laptop segment are expected to rise by 5%, while the cost of Nintendo and Sony consoles could increase by nearly 10%, from $500 to $548. The tariffs on Mexican goods will hit car imports the hardest, Moody's estimates. Mexico is the largest exporter of cars to the United States, accounting for 23% of total imports. It houses the factories of major Western manufacturers, including Germany's Volkswagen. As a result, the price of imported cars could rise by 20%. This, in turn, will inevitably lead to a rise in the cost of all new cars in the US, experts conclude.
Tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada, and China went into effect on March 4. A 25% tariff was imposed on all imports from Canada, except for energy resources, which will be taxed at 10%. Mexican goods also face a 25% tariff, while goods from Chinese exporters are now subject to an additional 10% tariff.
