How Trump's Tariffs Could Cost Americans' Wallet?

Trump raised the tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 20% - leading Beijing to retaliate with additional tariffs of 10% to 15% on a variety of U.S. agricultural imports.

A tariff is a tax on goods imported from abroad. Despite Trump's claims that his tariffs will be paid by other countries, Americans will be stuck with the higher prices.

Here's a deeper look at how the tariffs are likely to affect what Americans pay.

The U.S. imports a lot from China, and Trump's 20% tariff could hit more than $450 billion worth of imports.

The tariffs Trump imposed during his first term were more targeted. This time around, more Americans will feel the impact. Among the imports affected are a whole slew of consumer goods, including footwear, toys, video game consoles, and electronics.

U.S. businesses import a large number of components from China, as well as the machinery and equipment they use in their own production processes. So the cost of production in the U.S. will go up, too.

The Tax Foundation estimated that the tariffs on Chinese goods will add $329 in costs per U.S. household annually.

And there's no exception for Apple this time, unlike in Trump's first term.

"So iPhones, iPads, tablets, laptops - all of that from Apple would now be hit, which is kind of a big escalation compared to how consumer goods were shielded from most of the first trade war tariffs," Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, said last month.

Does this mean that Apple will now raise the price of the iPhone by 20% due to 20% tariffs on goods from China? Not necessarily.

For one thing, importers pay a tariff based on the cost price of the item, not the full retail price. And Apple might try to ramp up its production in other countries like India, or it could decide to eat the cost of the tariffs - especially since competitor Samsung produces many of its phones in South Korea or Vietnam and won't feel the same blow.

But even if Americans don't see an increase in the actual sticker price of an item, there is still pain being inflicted on the U.S. economy.

"It means incomes and returns to shareholders in the U.S. economy are lower instead, because if businesses have to eat those higher costs, it means they have less to pay their workers," says York. "It means they have less to hire and expand employment, or less to invest. So no matter what channel the price impact takes, it's Americans who are hurt by the tariffs."

China responded last month with its own 15% tariffs on American coal and liquefied natural gas and 10% tariffs on crude oil, farm equipment, and certain other vehicles. And now it has announced additional tariffs of 10-15% on a variety of U.S. agricultural imports, including chicken, pork, soy, and beef, starting next week. Those countermeasures will hurt Americans' finances, too.

Ultimately, if the tariffs go into effect and remain in place, it's simply a higher tax burden for Americans. "There's no winning a trade war."