Four months into the president’s second term on Wednesday, April 2, the Trump Administration signed an executive order for a baseline 10 percent tariff towards the European Union, China, Britain, and India on importing goods with the United States. The increase on global tariffs could potentially lead to paying extra for U.S. residents purchasing goods from overseas, including PRHS families having to pay extra for shipping packages from Amazon, FedEx, or UPS.
What is a tariff? Tariffs are taxes imposed on other countries for goods imported from another country, affected by individuals consuming products in the country where tariffs are imposed. The benefit of tariffs goes towards the U.S. government for revenue, and specific industries. Additionally, the effects of the tariffs can connect to inflation; an increase in everyday goods purchased by consumers.
The four countries, including Mexico, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and a few African and Asian nations have entered the trade wars.
History and economics teacher Christopher Smith described how today’s tariffs can impact the Paso Robles community. Smith educates students in his economics class with lessons about the health of the economy, as well as measuring inflation, tariffs, and globalization,
Prior to the 2025 surge of higher costs for everyday items, the most recent inflation epidemic occurred during the post-COVID 19 era, in which products like toilet paper were wiped from store shelves. Numerous necessities became difficult to compensate for with the spike of inflation.
“The shocks to food and energy prices contributed substantially to the sharp rise in inflation during the COVID-19 period. Energy price shocks were the primary cause of the high inflation rates from late 2021 to the middle of 2022,” according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics.
As of Aug. 29, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit had ruled that a majority of the president’s global tariffs were illegal, in which the president, “usurped the authority of tariffs when he slapped steep duties on imports from many countries earlier this year,” (CNBC). While the tariffs are still in effect, the Supreme Court will consider whether the tariff’s can be legalized.
