Counting the Costs of Trump’s Tariffs on the U.S. Economy

Just as the U.S. outlined a new round of tariffs on about $1.3 billion of French goods including makeup and handbags in the nations’ battle over digital taxes, evidence is mounting that the strategy has all sorts of costs for the American economy.

Tariffs introduced in 2018 and 2019 have raised prices for domestic consumers, implying welfare losses of about $50 billion, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said in its latest survey of the U.S. economy, citing a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper.