How Trump’s Tariffs Burden the Working Class

George Cassidy Payne
53 minutes ago
5 min read

What if I told you the biggest tax hike on working-class families in nearly a century didn’t come from Congress but from tariffs?

Sold as a patriotic shield for American workers, Donald Trump’s tariffs have quietly become a tax on ordinary people. They raise the cost of food, clothing, cars, and household goods. They shrink paychecks and stifle job growth. And they hit Black and Brown households hardest, because when the price of rice, school uniforms, or a washing machine goes up, the margin for survival gets thinner.

This isn’t abstract economic theory, it’s kitchen table reality.

Economists agree: tariffs are taxes. When Trump hiked duties on imported goods, the costs didn’t stop at the docks. They filtered through every supply chain and landed squarely in consumers’ carts. The Tax Foundation, a nonpartisan think tank, calls tariffs “among the most regressive taxes in modern history.” Why? Because families of color, especially those earning less, spend more of their income on goods than services. That means every trip to the grocery store, every school shopping list, every broken appliance carries the hidden stamp of Trump’s tariff policy. And while tariffs were pitched as a way to protect domestic jobs, they gave U.S. producers cover to raise prices too, knowing foreign competition was blocked. It’s a double blow—imports cost more, and so do the homegrown alternatives.

If tariffs were supposed to bring jobs back, the September labor report tells another story. Employers added only 22,000 jobs—well below expectations. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.3%, the highest since 2021. Wages grew at their slowest pace in three years. The one sector still adding jobs? Health care. Everywhere else, manufacturing, retail, transportation, jobs are vanishing. Manufacturing alone shed 12,000 positions in August, and has lost 78,000 over the past year. “Tariffs were supposed to shield American workers,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist at KPMG. “Instead they’re undermining the very labor market stability they were designed to protect.” For Black and Brown workers, who are often the first fired and last hired, this slowdown isn’t just a statistic, it’s a looming storm.

Trump’s tariffs have pushed the nation’s average tariff rate to its highest level since 1934. That stoked inflation fears and forced the Federal Reserve to hit pause on interest rate cuts. Just as businesses were adjusting to the new tariff landscape, a U.S. appeals court ruled last week that many of the duties were illegal, plunging employers back into uncertainty. “The warning bell that rang in the labor market a month ago just got louder,” said Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings. “The Fed is likely to prioritize labor market stability over its inflation mandate, even as inflation drifts further from the 2% target. It’s hard to argue that tariff uncertainty isn’t a key driver of this weakness.” That uncertainty trickles down. Employers hold off on hiring. Workers worry about layoffs. Families hesitate on big purchases. What starts in Washington courtrooms and boardrooms ends at the corner store.

Trump sold tariffs as a way to stick it to China and “bring back our jobs.” For a while, the message stuck. But the reality is different. Farmers in the Midwest are losing export markets as China retaliates. Families in Rochester, Buffalo, Detroit, and Atlanta are paying more at checkout. And while wealthier households can absorb higher prices, the working class, already navigating wage gaps and wealth gaps, cannot. A higher price for diapers, bread, or sneakers is not just an inconvenience, it’s a choice between needs. As Jason Furman, former chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, put it: “Tariffs don’t just hurt one group of Americans; they hurt everyone. They’re one of the least efficient ways to protect jobs, and one of the most painful ways to raise revenue.”

We’ve seen this movie before. In 1930, the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act triggered retaliation around the globe, deepening the Great Depression. The lesson is clear: protectionism can backfire, turning an economic shield into a wrecking ball. Douglas Irwin, an economic historian at Dartmouth, warns: “Tariffs don’t bring back lost industries; they distort markets, provoke retaliation, and raise costs for consumers. The lesson of Smoot-Hawley should be flashing red right now.”

For Black and Brown families, tariffs pile on top of existing structural inequities. They widen the gap between rising costs and stagnant wages. They make financial mobility harder, not easier. And they punish the very communities already carrying the heaviest burdens of health disparities, underemployment, and intergenerational poverty. This is not about geopolitics. It’s about groceries, rent, and dignity.

Trump has promised to expand tariffs even further. That means higher prices and more uncertainty are not just a possibility, they’re a guarantee. The question voters must confront is simple: do we want an economy that works for working people, or one that asks them to shoulder the costs of policies designed for headlines rather than households?

Trump’s tariffs may have been sold as a weapon against foreign competitors, but in practice, they’ve become a weapon against American families. They don’t just tax goods; they tax opportunity. They tax stability. They tax hope. And in communities already carrying centuries of economic weight, that is more than a tax, it’s a theft of tomorrow.

If the measure of policy is how it treats the most vulnerable, then tariffs fail that test. They are not a path to prosperity, but a toll booth on the road to survival. And the people paying the toll—disproportionately Black and Brown, working class, and struggling—deserve better than to be collateral damage in another man’s trade war.

George Cassidy payne is a writer and educator with a deep interest in architecture, film, and the immigrant experience. With a background in philosophy and social justice, his work often explores the intersections of place, identity, and memory. Payne is particularly drawn to stories that challenge conventional narratives about history and belonging. When not writing, he can be found wandering through Brutalist landmarks, contemplating the interplay of light and concrete. He lives and works in Rochester, NY.

References:

Yale Budget Lab. "State of U.S. Tariffs: August 7, 2025." Yale Budget Lab.

State of U.S. Tariffs: September 4, 2025