Sweeping tariffs could hit the U.S.’s largest trading partners outside of North America
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The cost of fruits, vegetables, vehicles, electronics, crude oil, toys and more may go up over the next few months as a result of President Donald Trump’s proposed sweeping tariffs on “all countries,” which will take effect on April 2.
Trump has promised his day of reciprocal tariffs on countries will be “liberation day” for the United States – part of his plan to increase domestic manufacturing and jobs while holding other countries accountable for what he believes are unfair trade policies.
Though tariffs are designed to promote domestic production and purchasing by taxing imported goods, the increase in cost typically falls on consumers, not foreign governments. Numerous economic experts have warned that Trump’s sweeping tariffs on goods from countries could lead to price spikes and inflation — a concern shared by many voters who said they backed Trump.
While it’s unclear which countries will be impacted and by how much, reports suggest the Trump administration could implement up to 25 percent tariffs on the U.S.’s largest trading partners, such as Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam.
Already, Trump has imposed 25 percent tariffs on Canada and Mexico, though they have been paused twice, a 10 percent tariff on China, a 25 percent tariff on foreign-made automobiles and a 25 percent tariff on aluminum and steel.
The U.S. imports a host of goods from other countries. Here are the resources, materials or products that could be impacted:
President Donald Trump’s tariff plan could have a major impact on prices for countless goods shipped into the U.S. Pictured: Workers in an Amazon warehouse prepare items to ship to customersopen image in gallery
President Donald Trump’s tariff plan could have a major impact on prices for countless goods shipped into the U.S. Pictured: Workers in an Amazon warehouse prepare items to ship to customers (Getty Images)
Crude Oil
Canada is the largest supplier of crude oil to the U.S. with more than 3.8 million barrels per day, or 60 percent of U.S. crude oil imports, coming from its northern neighbor.
Although the U.S. produces large quantities of crude oil every day, it makes more economic sense to import it. Crude oil produced in the U.S. is considered “light” compared to the “heavy” oil produced in Canada and the Middle East.
This means the U.S. relies on imports for “heavy” oil for gasoline. Importing from Canada, which is close by and doesn’t require as much transportation as other countries, such as those in the Middle East, makes it more accessible.
“A 25% tariff on Canadian oil would have huge impacts to #gasprices in the Great Lakes, Midwest & Rockies, which are major markets where refiners process Canadian oil. You can’t simply process different oil overnight. It would take investments/years. More U.S. supply wouldn’t help,” warned gas price expert Patrick De Haan on X.
De Haan, an industry leader with GasBuddy.com, further warned that oil refineries in the U.S. have shrunk over the last four years - making it harder for the U.S. to increase its production in gasoline.
Tariffs could also impact the price of gasoline from the Middle East. About 12 percent of oil imports came from the Persian Gulf, so tariffs on those countries would likely have a similar impact.
Motor vehicles and parts
New vehicles and vehicle repairs are expected to get more expensive under Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on foreign-made vehicles on April 3 and eventually will include foreign-made vehicle parts.
Importing auto parts and then assembling them in the U.S. is a cheaper alternative than manufacturing and assembling domestically. Tariffs will increase the cost of most cars, though it's not clear by how much.
Mexico is the largest exporter of vehicles, vehicle parts and vehicle accessories to the U.S. than any other country, making up 27 percent of all imports from Mexico.
Trump has already pushed a 25 percent tariff on cars shipped into the U.S.open image in gallery
Trump has already pushed a 25 percent tariff on cars shipped into the U.S. (AP)
Japan, Canada, South Korea, Germany and the U.K. also heavily contribute to the U.S. automobile manufacturing industry.
“For auto dealers and their customers, already reeling from rising vehicle and parts prices, as well as high interest rates and insurance costs, these new tariffs pose an additional and unwelcome challenge to affordability,” American International Automobile Dealers Association president and CEO Cody Lusk said in a statement.
Electronic Equipment
More than a quarter of U.S. imports from China fall under the category of electronic equipment, machinery, and products.
These include television sets, smartphones, monitors, projects, and more. All of them could see price increases if tariffs are imposed and passed on to consumers.
China, Japan and South Korea are all known to ship electronics to the U.S. and all three bonded together to respond to Trump’s proposed tariffs on all nations, according to Reuters. All three agreed to strengthen supply chain cooperation and talk more about export controls, state media reported.
Mexico too is also a major producer of electronics not only in the U.S. but across the globe.
“Mexico has over 730 plants manufacturing audio and video, telecommunications, computer equipment, and related parts. It is the largest exporter of flat-screen TVs in the world, the third-largest exporter of computers, and the eighth-largest producer of electronics in the world,” consulting firm IVEMSA, according to PC Mag.
Electronics, such as those from China or South Korea, could get more expensive if Trump puts tariffs on most countries exporting to the U.S.open image in gallery
Electronics, such as those from China or South Korea, could get more expensive if Trump puts tariffs on most countries exporting to the U.S. (AFP via Getty Images)
Sugar
Among Mexico’s largest exports to the U.S. are sugar and sweeteners. The U.S. spends more than $700 million importing sugar directly from Mexico.
More than 445,000 metric tons of sugar were imported to U.S. ports from Mexico between October 2023 and September 2024.
Fresh vegetables and fruit
The U.S. spends more than $20 billion annually importing horticultural agricultural products from Canada and Mexico. Tomatoes, avocados, peppers, strawberries, lemons, limes, broccoli, cauliflower and many more produce is imported into the U.S. from Mexico.
Canada supplies the U.S. with mushrooms, potatoes and more.
All of those items could see price increases with tariffs. That would hit American consumers hard as grocery prices have already risen by about 25 percent since 2020. Many voters used groceries as an example of how inflation impacted their day-to-day lives, so another price increase in food could be devastating to households.
Additional tariffs on countries like India could increase the cost of rice, honey, vegetable extracts, castor oil and black pepper – it’s largest exports.
Meat
Beef and beef products are often imported from Canada and Mexico and the amount imported has only risen over the last three years.
An analysis by Third Way found that the average cost of 3lbs of frozen beef in America is $26.67. A 10 percent tariff on all goods, with a 60 percent tariff on goods from China, would lead to a price jump for the same meat to $27.76.
A host of food products - from meat to vegetables to spices - are shipped into the U.S. Shoppers could see prices rise at the grocery store as the result of tariffsopen image in gallery
A host of food products - from meat to vegetables to spices - are shipped into the U.S. Shoppers could see prices rise at the grocery store as the result of tariffs (Getty Images)
Toys
China’s third largest export to the U.S. are toys, games and sports requisites because they are cheaper to manufacture overseas.
Though the idea of tariffs is to promote domestic production, the chief executive of Basic Fun, the maker of Fischer-Price and Care Bears, toldThe New York Post there is “no manufacturing base for toys in the U.S. anymore.”
The same analysis by Third Way estimated the cost of an average board game going from $14.87 to $17.85 under Trump’s tariffs.
Clothes
Many of the clothes worn by Americans come from other places in the world. Vietnam is responsible for about 17 percent of U.S. imports and has nearly passed China as the biggest exporter to the U.S.
If China is excluded, the Asian nations of Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Cambodia were responsible for about 44 percent of U.S. clothing imports.
Trump’s tariff plan, if it's universal across the globe, could have a major impact on clothes prices in Asian nations. American Apparel & Footwear Association president Steve Lamar stated that tariffs could shake the appeal market and impact the millions of jobs supported by it, according to Just Style.
“These new tariffs are compounding rapidly. Amid other hints at hitting hard on the EU and other allies as well, each HTS code of tariffs snowballs into a growing – and potentially crushing – burden on American businesses and hardworking American families,” Lamar said.
Wood, plastics and other materials
China, Mexico, Canada and the U.K. provide the U.S. with an abundance of materials such as wood, plastics, iron and textiles.
Some companies have already warned that tariffs on materials could lead to a spike increase, even for products assembled in America.
Many building materials are shipped into the U.S. and tariffs could increase the price of new homes or for remodeling projects on old onesopen image in gallery
Many building materials are shipped into the U.S. and tariffs could increase the price of new homes or for remodeling projects on old ones (AFP via Getty Images)
“People generally don’t understand how dependent the global economy is for those kinds of intermediate goods, raw materials, that we sort of take for granted,” Willy Shih, an economist at Harvard Business School, told PackagingDive.com.
“They need to understand where their exposures are,” he said. “A lot of times, it’ll be in surprising areas, because your exposure may be at your supplier level. Your tier two supplier may have exposure to tariffs and you may not know, but the first thing you got to do is understand all that.”
Pharmaceuticals
Trump indicated he plans to put a tariff on pharmaceuticals while speaking with reporters on January 31 – though he did not elaborate how much he would tariff imported pharmaceuticals or where they would originate.
The U.S. spends more than $2 billion importing essential medications from China.
A large portion of U.S. pharmaceutical imports also come from Mexico, Canada, the U.K. and India.