Americans stocking up on foreign goods before Trump tariffs: ‘a sense of urgency’
Tablets and appliances made in China, hybrid cars built in Canada, European wine.As Donald Trump’s second inauguration as president quickly approaches, Americans are stocking up on goods in anticipation of tariffs Trump plans to place on imports, according to a Guardian reader poll.Since the election, Trump has promised to immediately impose a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports, along with increasing existing tariffs on Chinese imports by 10%.On the campaign trail, Trump said he would put tariffs of 10% to 20% on all imports.Economists widely agree that prices will increase with tariffs.
Though the policy is meant to encourage American companies to produce their goods domestically, the global supply chain has become so entangled and interconnected that for many companies, the most simple thing will be to pass the cost of tariffs on to consumers – executives from multiple companies, including Walmart, Columbia Sportswear and AutoZone, have said they will do as much.In a November Harris/Guardian poll, nearly half (44%) of respondents said they were planning purchases before Trump entering office, while nearly two-thirds (62%) said they were at least adjusting their financial plans for next year.The Guardian asked readers whether they had made or were planning to make purchases in anticipation of Trump’s tariffs.Dozens responded with what they had bought with inauguration day in mind.Many readers said they made major electronics purchases in anticipation of new tariffs against China.
According to the Consumer Technology Association, a 60% tariff on Chinese imports could push up prices for laptops and tablets by 46% and smartphones by 26%.Even though many said they would have preferred to hold off on making bigger purchases, many felt the pressure of looming tariffs.“My wife and I are planning to purchase new Apple iPads,” said Bob McMahon of West Chester, Pennsylvania.“These are purchases we’ve been considering for some time, but we now feel a sense of urgency since Trump’s tariffs will likely increase prices.”Household appliances, such as washers and dryers and kitchen appliances, have also been top of mind.
The National Retail Federation estimates consumers would pay an additional $6.4-$10.9bn on appliances with tariffs.“We are purchasing a new washer and dryer … which we have put off due to medical bills,” said Liza Gilbert of La Crosse, Wisconsin.“It will be even harder to afford in January.
”Those who were planning home renovations have been buying construction materials in advance of tariffs, particularly ones placed on Canada that could affect material like imported wood for cabinets,“My partner is laying in supplies and materials for a new roof we had planned for the spring,” said Jen Thomas of West Virginia,“While the rush of a second Trump presidency is still exciting for many West Virginians, my partner and I are neither excited nor optimistic about the next four years,”With the shortages during the Covid-19 pandemic still in recent memory for many, people are also stocking up on essentials, including food and toilet paper, with the uncertainty of future prices,“My husband and I stocked up on toilet paper and flour early in the pandemic, so thought we’d be clever and try to get ahead of the looming price hikes due to Trump’s tariffs,” said Molly Heath, of Indianapolis, Indiana.
“Lessons learned, right?”Heath added that upon doing more research, her family concluded that it would be hard to “get ahead of” the tariffs.“We decided it would be wiser to revisit the household budget and prepare for a general cost-of-living increase,” Heath said.Others have stocked up on food that can last on their shelves.“Everything will go through the roof when [Trump] takes office,” said Carol Lee Wood of Virginia, who said she has made more purchases of beans, rice, powdered milk and freeze-dried fruits and vegetables.“I wish I could stockpile gasoline and avocados!”A few readers said they had recently purchased hybrid cars, anticipating that Trump would end Joe Biden’s electric vehicle tax credit.
“I bought a 2025 hybrid SUV five days after the election,” said Ellie from Maine, who did not provide her last name.“It was the last one on the lot.”The Budget Lab at Yale University estimates that consumer prices could rise 1.4% to 5.1% if Trump were to implement his broad tariff plan, which would be the equivalent of an additional $1,900 to $7,600 per household.
It would be a painful uptick in prices for American consumers, many of whom are still reeling from inflation seen in the years after the pandemic.Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 and has since come down to below 3%.Despite this concern from consumers, Trump has continued to insist that he will institute tariffs as soon as he enters office, carrying out a promise he made on the campaign trail.In his 9 December interview with Meet the Press, Trump said that tariffs “cost Americans nothing”.
Tariffs “made this country money.And we never really got the chance to go all out because we had to fight Covid in the last part,” Trump said, referencing his first term.“We did it very successfully.”
ECB urges cricket’s leaders to take action over ‘gender apartheid’ in Afghanistan
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Bill Sweeney’s RFU fate to be decided after Six Nations following U-turn
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Jolted Australia are on the tear again – England have their work cut out
Healy’s side have reacted strongly to World Cup pain and the tourists need to keep the series live until the TestIf you’re playing against the Australian women’s cricket team, there are points where the only option is to brace yourself. Because they lose so very rarely, in any format, they tend to respond to those anomalies by proving how unusual they are. For England’s women, visiting Australia for a Women’s Ashes series of three one-day internationals, three Twenty20s and a day-night Test, this is now the position they are in.Skip back two places on the list of major failures to the 50-over World Cup semi-final of 2017, when Australia got ambushed by Harmanpreet Kaur in one of the all-time batting assaults. Outraged at watching England subsequently knock over India in the final, Australia went on a tear: unbeaten in series terms across four Women’s Ashes, three T20 World Cups, three T20 tri-series, 14 bilateral T20 series, 14 bilateral ODI series, the Commonwealth Games and the next 50-over World Cup, on the way notching a world record ODI winning streak of 26
Jimmy Anderson plans to play on for Lancashire in 2025 county season
Batters in Division Two of the County Championship have been put on notice with the news that Jimmy Anderson is planning to make a return for Lancashire this year.Anderson has not played a competitive match since his farewell Test, against West Indies at Lord’s last July, but, despite turning 43 this summer and having already moved into coaching, England’s record wicket-taker has made no secret of his desire to continue.Anderson went unsold in the auction for this year’s Indian Premier League but it was not the end of the line, with Lancashire set to be the beneficiaries as they try to bounce back to Division One after last year’s relegation. Talks over a deal are understood to be in progress, 25 years on from his professional debut for the club.Relegation may have been avoided had Anderson turned out for the Red Rose last summer but England softened the blow of forcing him into international retirement with a role as the Test team’s bowling coach
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