U.S. Consumer Purchasing Power Loses 108 Trillion Due to 'Trump Tariffs'

Photo Source: Yonhap News

If the tariff pledge made by former U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is implemented, the purchasing power of U.S. consumers will disappear by up to $78 billion (KRW 107.6 trillion) every year, according to an estimate.

The National Retail Federation (NFR) made this estimate in its "Tariff Impact Estimation" report released on the 4th, local time, a day before the U.S. presidential election.

The association analyzed six items, including clothing, toys, furniture, home appliances, shoes, and travel items, divided into a scenario in which a 10% to 20% tariff is imposed on all imports and a 60% to 100% tariff on Chinese imports.

Both scenarios were expected to significantly increase the prices of these items.

Currently, most of these items' tariff rates are in the single digits or in the low 10% range, and the average tariff rate will exceed 50% if universal tariffs of 10-20% and Chinese imports of 60-100%.

The price hike is estimated to cost U.S. consumers $46 billion to $78 billion annually.