There’s a lot of consternation over Trump’s proposed tariffs. We are being told that the cost will be paid by U.S. consumers and not the country from which the goods come. Ironically, the people making the most noise about these taxes on foreign companies are the same people who have for years advocated for higher taxes on American companies. Aren’t those taxes also passed on to the consumer?

The truth of the matter is more complicated than that. The answer to the question of whether the cost of these tariffs will be paid by U.S. consumers is a definite, maybe.

The cost of goods and services is governed by two very simple concepts; supply and demand. There are, however many things that contribute to both sides of that calculation. Taxes, which add to a producer’s cost, play some role on the supply part of that equation, but do not add directly to the price.

Because of the complexities of economics, it is virtually impossible for anyone to predict with any accuracy what the effect on prices any particular tax will have, but it is almost certain that the entire burden of these tariffs will not be borne by the consumer.

That said, it is possible, even likely that there will be some price increases as a result of tariffs, but if the government doesn’t squander that money as it is wont to do and offsets this revenue with reductions in domestic tax rates, this will benefit the U.S. consumer greatly, and that’s just what Trump promises to do. If he does not follow through, then we’ll have a legitimate complaint.

There are those who object to tariffs for other reasons and those are discussions that need to be had, but just as in the case of consumer prices, we need to look at them from a factual and unbiased perspective and not a partisan one.

PAUL RINKER

Montoursville

Submitted by Virtual Newsroom