Trump's Tariffs and Iran Policy Have Pushed Prices Higher, Not Lower
Despite campaign pledges to cut costs immediately, Trump's tariff decisions and foreign policy moves have contributed to rising inflation, polls show.
President Donald Trump campaigned aggressively on a promise to lower consumer prices from his first day back in office, but his administration's core policy choices have moved in the opposite direction, driving inflation higher rather than containing it, analysts say.
Tariffs have been at the center of the price pressure. Trump imposed sweeping "liberation day" tariffs shortly after taking office, raising costs on a broad range of imported goods including citrus fruits, bananas, beef, steel and auto parts. The Supreme Court later struck down those tariffs as unlawful, but Trump responded by introducing new across-the-board 10% tariffs — which a lower court also found illegal — continuing the cycle of added costs on imported merchandise.
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Economists had repeatedly warned that tariffs function as a tax on imports, meaning businesses and consumers ultimately absorb the higher costs. Trump pressed forward regardless, and public opinion has reflected the fallout. A Fox News poll conducted this month found that 77% of Americans disapprove of the president's handling of tariffs, while more than one in five voters who supported Trump in his second-term campaign now say they disapprove of his overall job performance.
Beyond trade policy, Trump's confrontational stance toward Iran has also been cited among the factors adding inflationary pressure to the U.S. economy. Together, these decisions represent a notable departure from the cost-cutting agenda Trump centered his return to the White House around, raising political risks as household budget concerns remain a dominant issue for American voters.
Continue reading at Business | The Guardian.
