Americans can thank Trump’s tariffs for Christmas being a lot more expensive this year. A study by LendingTree applied Trump’s tariffs to 2024’s Christmas shopping data and found that had the tariffs been in place last year, the average American would have spent an additional $132 on Christmas gifts, on top of the average $902 each the National Retail Federation found shoppers spent. “We estimate consumers and retailers would have faced an extra $40.6 billion burden from gift purchases,“ said the study. ”Consumers would have shouldered an estimated $28.6 billion, while retailers would have absorbed $12.0 billion." The numbers are particularly troubling for Americans looking to buy electronics and clothing this holiday season, two of the most popular—and most imported—categories of goods. The study finds that with tariffs, the average American consumer would have spent $186 more on electronics and $82 more on clothing in 2024. Trump’s tariffs are currently still in place but the Supreme Court is preparing to rule on whether they can be legally imposed, in a case which could derail his economic agenda.
Read it at LendingTree
