US companies, consumers are paying for tariffs, not foreign firms

Basic economics of tariffs & who pays

• Many comments stress that tariffs are a tax collected at the border, usually passed on at least partly to domestic buyers; they’re meant to raise import prices to change behavior, not to “make foreigners pay.”
• Others emphasize tax incidence is more complex: who ultimately pays depends on leverage and alternatives (elasticities). Some argue we don’t yet have clear data on how the burden is split between foreign producers, US importers, and consumers.

Design and targeting problems

• Several argue “page 1 of tariff policy” is: don’t tariff inputs (steel, copper, aluminum, machinery). Doing so uniquely handicaps US manufacturers versus foreign competitors.
• Tariffs on goods the US can’t realistically produce at scale (coffee, cocoa, many tropical crops, some ores like bauxite) are seen as pure consumer taxes with no reshoring benefit.
• Others counter that some products (e.g., avocados, some manufacturing) could be scaled in the US over years if the economics change.

Effects on prices, inflation, and the broader economy

• One camp: tariffs are inflationary by design (make imports cost more) and can be both recessionary (lower real purchasing power, slower demand) and inflationary (higher prices on many goods).
• Another camp: consumers will substitute or buy less, so headline inflation may not spike, but real living standards fall.
• There’s debate over revenue: some point to surging tariff collections and a one‑month surplus; others note this is timing noise and total extra revenue is modest relative to the deficit.

Industrial policy, reindustrialization, and security

• Supporters say tariffs are part of a broader shift toward domestic manufacturing, with visible increases in “hardtech” and factory investment, and national‑security benefits from shorter, allied supply chains.
• Skeptics argue unpredictable, blanket tariffs (including on capital equipment and inputs) deter long‑horizon investment and cause stagflation, unlike strategic, long‑term industrial policies (e.g., China’s EV build‑out, CHIPS/IRA‑style programs).

Distributional and political aspects

• Many frame tariffs as regressive consumer taxes that shift the burden from high‑income taxpayers to the bottom 80%, fitting a broader plutocratic pattern.
• Others reply that any corporate tax is ultimately passed on; if one supports “taxing the rich,” it’s inconsistent to categorically reject tariffs on import‑heavy firms.
• There’s extensive criticism of the Trump administration’s messaging (“foreigners pay”), its chaotic implementation, and how tariff “drama” itself becomes a costly, uncollected “uncertainty tax” as firms reconfigure supply chains.

Case studies and mixed evidence

• Concrete examples (PPE masks, supply‑chain contracts) suggest:
  – Foreign suppliers sometimes discount to offset part of the tariff.
  – US buyers still often pay higher post‑tariff prices.
• Net effect across sectors remains contested in the thread; commenters agree many second‑order effects (quality changes, durability, sourcing shifts) are hard to see in aggregate data.