WASHINGTON:(AP) President Donald Trump’s new tariffs threaten to push up prices on clothes, mobile phones, furniture and many other products in the coming months, possibly ending the era of cheap goods that Americans enjoyed for about a quarter-century before the pandemic.
In return, White House officials hope the import taxes create more high-paying manufacturing jobs by bringing production back to the United States. It is a politically risky trade-off that could take years to materialise, and it would have to overcome tall barriers, such as the automation of most modern factories.
Even after Trump’s U-turn on Wednesday that paused steep new tariffs on about 60 nations for 90 days, average US duties remain much higher than a couple of months ago.