Watch the video and read the complete ABC News article, Trump's New Tariffs Could Hike Prices.

According to the article, price increases could hit coffee, shoes, appliances and other products following a flurry of tariffs issued by President Donald Trump in recent days.

Trump slapped tariffs as high as 50 percent on dozens of countries, including top U.S. trade partners such as Japan and South Korea. The fresh levies are set to take effect on August 1. A proposed 50 percent tariff on copper imports could intensify the impact of the country-specific levies.

Tariffs put forward so far by Trump are expected to cost an average household an additional $2,400 this year, according to the Yale Budget Lab.

“Tariffs could be incredibly high on certain countries and certain products,” said Kyle Handley, a professor of economics at the University of California, San Diego. “Things will get a little more expensive.”

Products Impacted By New Tariffs

Coffee

Coffee drinkers may feel the pinch of new tariffs, analysts said.

The list of country-specific levies includes a 50 percent tariff on products from Brazil, a major source of imported coffee. The U.S. imported nearly $2 billion worth of coffee from Brazil last year, which amounted to about 20 percent of all such imported products. Importers typically pass along a share of the tariff-related tax burden on consumers in the form of price hikes. In this case, that sticker shock could be exacerbated by a price increase that's already hitting coffee.

Coffee prices soared about 11 percent in May compared to a year ago, making inflation four times higher than the overall rate, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed. The spike in coffee prices comes down to a dearth of supply due to drought alongside robust demand, meaning too many dollars are chasing after too few coffee beans. Tariffs on Brazil could push up prices even more, analysts said.

“Coffee is already near record-high prices,” Jason Miller, a professor of supply chain management at Michigan State University. “I’d expect that price to go higher.”

Clothing and Shoes

The latest tariffs target countries like Bangladesh and Cambodia that are key sources of apparel and footwear, putting those products also at risk of price hikes, analysts said.

Trump slapped 36 percent tariffs on goods from Cambodia as well as 35 percent tariffs on Bangladesh. Indonesia, another major exporter to the U.S., faces 32 percent tariffs.

“If you look at the tags on your clothing it's made in these places,” Handley said.

A trade agreement with Vietnam last week enshrined 20 percent tariffs on all Vietnamese goods, cementing higher prices for those apparel and shoe imports. Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America, an industry group representing 95 percent of the American shoe and sneaker manufacturers, criticized the trade agreement with Vietnam. The deal, the group said, would “hit American consumers and our industry hard.”

China, meanwhile, faces 30 percent tariffs on nearly all of their exports to the U.S. China accounts for about $4 of every $10 in imported footwear sold to U.S. buyers, the United States International Trade Commission found in 2020.

Price impacts on footwear and apparel may prove smaller than expected, however, since manufacturers and retailers could bear the burden of the increased taxes with otherwise wide profit margins, Miller said.

“The profit margins are so pronounced that there may be a little less of a consumer impact,” Miller said.

Appliances, Electric Vehicles, and Home Hardware

Trump’s proposed 50 percent tariffs on copper could raise prices for an array of goods, ranging from home fixtures to electric vehicles, analysts said.

"A lot of stuff that you’re getting at the hardware store – it’s copper,” Handley said.

An electric vehicle requires roughly 83 kilograms of copper – about 183 pounds – which amounts to nearly four times as much copper as a combustion-engine car, the International Copper Association found in 2017. The adoption of electric vehicles was expected to bring a surge in demand for copper, the group said.

The copper tariffs, Miller said, will push electric vehicle prices higher: “We’d expect to see inflationary pressure on EVs.

Discussion Questions

  1. What is the legal authority that gives the U.S. Congress the right to set tariff rates for the United States and its trading partners?

    Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution specifically vests the power to lay and collect tariffs with Congress. The framers of the Constitution intended for legislative oversight on taxation, tariffs, and related financial matters, viewing tariffs as strategic levers to be used with caution and prudence.

  2. What is the legal authority that gives President Trump the right to set tariff rates for the United States and its trading partners?

    Historically, Congress set tariffs and maintained tight control over this power. Over time, however, particularly after the Great Depression, there was a shift towards delegating some authority to the executive branch. This began with the Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act of 1934, allowing the president to negotiate trade agreements without separate congressional approval each time. Later acts, such as the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 and the Trade Act of 1974, further evolved this delegated authority. These allowed the president to act on national security concerns through tariffs or respond to unfair trade practices. However, this delegation is not unchecked. For example, Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 enables to president to impose tariffs if imports threaten national security, but this is bounded by specific findings and processes.

    The U.S. Supreme Court has emphasized that any delegation of power must include an “intelligible principle” to direct and limit the president’s use of this authority. While the president can negotiate and respond to immediate threats, the imposition of generalized tariffs still requires congressional approval, reinforcing the separation of powers fundamental to our constitutional republic.

  3. In your reasoned opinion, should President Trump or the U.S. Congress set tariff rates for the United States and its trading partners?

    In your author’s opinion, absent a factually demonstrable national emergency, the U.S. Congress should set tariff rates for the United States and its trading partners. The power vested in Congress pursuant to Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution is also a matter of congressional responsibility in terms of Congress’s representation of “We, the people.”

    As a nation, we can “press reset” and relegate tariff policy and law to the halls of Congress by adopting the following practices:

    (1) Reassessing Congress’s delegated authority—Congress could introduce more stringent standards for invoking national security justifications and/or establish clearer parameters for retaliatory actions against trading partners;

    (2) Enhancing transparency and accountability—Congress could mandate more comprehensive reporting of the rationale behind presidential action regarding tariffs, and anticipated impacts could allow for informed legislative and public scrutiny; and

    (3) Judicial oversight—Courts can further reinforce constitutional balance by clarifying the extent of permissible executive action in tariff matters.

    Obviously, undertaking these actions will require some “heavy lifting” on the part of the congressional and judicial branches of government. Whether they are willing to do so remains to be seen. Until then, an inclined executive (e.g., President Trump) can “fill the void” by asserting executive authority over the matter.