Vice President Kamala Harris said in the debate with former President Donald Trump that his plan to impose historic new tariffs equates to a form of sales tax.
Trump has vowed to shrink the trade deficit and pay for some of his proposals by raising tariffs. He has proposed harsh tariffs on China and floated the idea of 10% across-the-board tariffs.
“My opponent has a plan that I call the Trump sales tax, which would be a 20% tax on everyday goods that you rely on to get through the month,” Harris said.
She also claimed that the tariffs would result in costs of $4,000 more per year for middle class families.
Most economists agree that tariffs are ultimately passed along to consumers through higher prices, which is where Harris’s point of attack comes from. She mentioned a “20% tax” — Trump has mainly floated the idea of 10% tariffs, but at least once he mentioned the number being as high as 20%.
“We are going to have 10% to 20% tariffs on foreign countries that have been ripping us off for years, we are gonna charge them 10% to 20% to come in and take advantage of our country because that is what they have been doing,” Trump said during a rally in North Carolina last month.
The $4,000 estimate appears to be on the high end of projections for Trump’s tariff proposals, which are still not clearly delineated.
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The liberal Center for American Progress Action pegs the figure at $3,900 for a middle-class family — although that estimate applies to if 20% tariffs are imposed across the board.
The Peterson Institute for International Economics projects 20% across-the-board tariffs would cost the typical middle-class family over $2,600.
