According to a new analysis from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, tariffs on China could have a bigger and worse impact on the U.S. economy than they did during President Donald Trump’s first term. The reason: direct-to-consumer sales have undermined the intended punitive effects.
There have been seven years of U.S.-imposed tariffs and export restrictions, even though the Biden administration didn’t change many of the Trump impositions. And yet, the result has been that imports from China dropped by much less than official U.S. statistics have reported. New rounds during the second Trump administration could have a bigger impact if imposed differently than in the past.
When the U.S. started the first round of punitive trade actions against China in 2018, the statutory tariff rates on goods coming from China jumped from 2.7% to 17.5%. Biden largely maintained the same rate and Trump has added another 10%, including on goods like consumer electronics previously excluded.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
