The impacts of President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs on American consumers aren’t just theoretical anymore—they’re tangible.
According to Democrats on Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, each family in the United States has shelled out nearly $1,200 in tariff costs over the past 10 months alone. Between February and November, shoppers have collectively paid nearly $160 billion in tariffs, according to official data from the U.S. Treasury Department.
That whopping figure—and sizable household impact—is only slated to grow in the new year. If monthly tariffs keep pace with November’s rates, families will pay an average of $2,100 in duties each year moving forward.
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“This report shows that [the president’s] tariffs have done nothing but drive prices even higher for families,” said Senator Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the leading Democrat on the committee. “At a time when both parties should be working together to lower costs, the president’s tax on American families is simply making things more expensive.”
According to the Yale Budget Lab, consumers faced an overall average effective tariff rate of 16.8 percent in November—the highest rate seen since 1935. Notably, the duties have most heavily impacted apparel, electrical equipment, computers and cars. The Lab estimated that prices will rise in the short term by about 1.2 percent, representing a shortfall of about $1,700 per average American household.
If Trump’s International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs are invalidated by the Supreme Court, however, the burden on apparel and related products would be mostly alleviated, the analysts added. Should they remain in place through 2026, real gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the U.S. will slow by 0.4 percentage points, and in the long run, the U.S. economy will be 0.3 percent smaller (the equivalent of $90 billion per year in 2024 dollar terms).
The administration has vehemently denied the connection between the tariff regime and rising inflation, and the president has also labeled consumer concerns about affordability a “hoax.”
For shoppers feeling the cold sting of higher prices, the problem is very much real. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for September—the last month for which data is available, as the release for October was canceled due to the government shutdown—showed a year-over-year increase of 3 percent and a month-over-month increase of 0.3 percent.
Despite the painful impacts on consumers’ pocketbooks, the federal government’s tariff revenue collection notably slowed for the first time in November.
According to recently released data from the Treasury, customs raked in $30.75 billion in import duties last month, down from $31.35 billion in October. While tariff revenue growth was on a steady uphill trajectory since Trump first imposed global “reciprocal” tariffs in April, monthly increases have been slowing for several months.
That doesn’t bode well for the president’s tariff dividend check scheme, which promises $2,000 stimulus checks for middle- and lower-income American families paid for with proceeds from the duties.
As recently as Dec. 2, Trump was still touting the plan as a go, telling reporters during a cabinet meeting, “Next year is projected to be the largest tax refund season ever, and we’re going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs, as we have taken in literally trillions of dollars.” The president has also promised to use tariff revenue to pay down the ballooning national debt, currently worth about $38 trillion.
Should the Supreme Court rule against Trump’s IEEPA tariffs, however, the administration will be forced to pay back billions of dollars to U.S. companies that have already paid their 2025 tariff bills, a prospect the administration has warned would be disastrous for the Treasury and the national economy.
