The Trump tariffs have sparked a global trade war that was unprecedented by many before the Republican President began his second term in office. On Liberation Day, he announced a baseline 10% universal tariff on all imports to the United States. In addition, he imposed customized tariffs on countries importing American goods.
The baseline tariffs begin on April 9. Following his announcement, an additional 34% has been imposed on China, 25% on South Korea, 26% on India, and 20% on the European Union, among other regions.
Just when Americans began panicking about these aggressive tariffs, another concern was raised. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) might expire at the end of this year. This means that between tax cuts and tariffs, average Americans might have to face a hefty price tag.
Kimberly Clausing, a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, noted if the recently announced tariffs continue, “that would generate an average per household consumer loss of $3,800.” “Tariffs are also more damaging to the efficiency of our economy as well as our relations with allies and partners abroad.”
She noted that this could be “far more damaging to Americans’ pocketbooks than the tax cut expiration.” “If the tax cuts expire, the median family would lose about $1,000,” she told Fox News Digital.
The GOP-led House Committee on Ways and Means unveiled a memo in the recent months. They argued that if the 2017 tax cuts were left to expire, average taxpayers would pay 22% more. “A family of four making $80,610, the median income in the United States, would see a $1,695 tax increase if the Trump tax cuts expire. This is worth about nine weeks of groceries to a typical family of four across the country,” the committee release added.
Americans want to see the 2017 tax cuts extended!@PatricePinkFile @FoxBusiness @cvpaynehttps://t.co/qWWpK8r8Fh pic.twitter.com/uL3W0qp7IF
— Independent Women’s Forum (@IWF) April 1, 2025
Grover Norquist, President of Americans for Tax Reform, told Fox News Digital, “It’d be a real shock per family, per person to see in real life, times thousands of dollars.” He notes, however, that the increase in taxes “would transfer hundreds of billions that was flowing into corporate investment and jobs and new investment, and that would go straight to the government instead.”
This expert prediction comes as Congressional House and Senate Republicans navigate to pass a massive bill in the hope of extending Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. GOP emphasized that they do not want to let the tax cuts expire. Grover Norquist is hopeful about their ability but doubts, “I believe we are close.”
“I think it is as certain as anything is in the world of politics. It is extremely likely that we’re all set,” the President of Americans for Tax Reform commented.
What will the Republican tax cut look like?
President Trump made it clear that he would reduce taxes for all Americans “across the board.” He did so in 2017. And again now.
Read his lips: tax cuts across the board for all Americans.pic.twitter.com/BPa8vtKb6e— Grover Norquist (@GroverNorquist) March 31, 2025
Discussing the Donald Trump‘s tariffs, Claude Barfield, a former consultant to the office of the U.S. trade representative and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, noted, “Some people think that it will certainly raise prices in some areas, but there’s a difference between raising prices and having a full inflationary effect. That doesn’t mean… that you won’t notice it or a consumer won’t notice.”
Tax Foundation’s Garrett Watson noted that the big risk of the new tariffs is that they could offset “much or all the benefits of extending the expiring TCJA provisions.”
“In short, families across the country will continue to face higher costs if lawmakers in Washington don’t focus their efforts on pro-growth and fiscally responsible economic policies,” suggested Daniel Bunn of the Tax Foundation.
