Who Actually Pays the Tariffs?
A common misconception is that foreign countries pay the tariffs imposed by the U.S. government. In reality, when goods arrive at U.S. ports, they are held until the importing company—often a domestic business—pays the required tariff. This means that the financial burden falls directly on U.S. importers, not the exporting foreign entities. And of course, the higher cost of goods means higher retail prices once these products hit shelves.
The Challenge of Domestic Manufacturing
The rationale behind imposing tariffs is to make imported goods more expensive, thereby encouraging companies to manufacture products domestically. However, this is far more difficult than it sounds. In many instances, the infrastructure or expertise to produce certain items simply doesn’t exist in the U.S. Building out these factories could take years, if not decades. Will tariffs that almost everyone agrees will not be permanent be enough of an incentive for businesses to risk spending the billions of dollars required to rebuild our manufacturing?
How Much Does it Cost To Make It In America?
I've tried to produce multiple products in the United States and each time it's failed. The factories simply do not exist here, but the few that do charge substantially more than working with a factory overseas. In my experience, manufacturing costs 8 to 12 times more in the USA than having it produced in another country and shipped in. This means that tariffs need to reach 800% before it would become cheaper to have a product made in America. This of course isn't feasible, as consumers would never buy products for 8X the price, and at those rates, the businesses and products would cease to exist.
Also it's important to remember that, products "made in America" are still currently made with foreign materials using foreign-made machines. Blanket tariffs would hit every business and factory for decades even though they were manufacturing products locally.
My hot sauce brand Oliveum is cooked and bottled in the USA but the bottles themselves are Chinese-made. A few commenters on my video said that I sold out my country by having my hot sauce bottles made in China. They fail to realize that every hot sauce bottle in America is already made in China.
How Much Will Tariffs Affect The Cost of Photography Equipment
Tony Northrup made a great video breaking down the cost increases we are about to see on camera gear based on their country of origin.
Impact on Camera Gear
The photography industry is particularly affected by these tariffs, as many camera manufacturers produce equipment in the countries facing higher duties:
• Canon: Manufactures in Japan (24% tariff) and Taiwan (32% tariff).
• Nikon: Produces in Thailand (36% tariff) and Japan.
• Sony: Operates factories in Thailand and Japan (24% tariff).
• Fujifilm: Manufactures in China (34% tariff) and Japan.
• Olympus (OM System): Primarily produces in Vietnam (46% tariff).
A Deeper Dive Into Trade Deficits, Tariffs, and How They Were Calculated
Ben Shapiro recently came out with a video that goes much deeper into these tariffs, and how they appear to have been calculated based on trade deficits, rather than being "reciprocal."
I would love to be able to easily and affordably manufacture products in the United States. Proponents of these tariffs seem to believe this is right around the corner. I hope they're right.
…..
Although there is no way to know with certainty what will take place with tariffs, at the very least it will be a rough ride in the beginning - What's more disturbing is for all the harassment the Democrats have thrown at the Trump administration, have the Democrats offered alternative ideas on how to get the Fed's employment numbers down and the reported fraud under control? - Both parties act like children - Although I tend to lean toward Trump I firmly believe we need both major parties working together to get the federal budget under control - As an American I expect and demand the 2 parties work together to resolve the ever worsening crises with our national debt - Of course, my demand will not be met by either side.
I do think American's have every right to expect so-called government representatives to act in an adult-like manner and work together to resolve the growing debt issue in our country - As the numbers get ever higher we can expect the system to break at some unknown point in the future.
Tariff's were exceptionally successful from the late 1700's until our government decided to create an income tax circa 1913 - After that time tariff revenue began to collapse and provided little revenue as we headed towards today's business world and the Fed's decided American citizens should float the boat thru an income tax.
I'm not confident they will be as successful as Trump feels but no one knows with certainty what the end result will be - What can be stated is Trump appears to be the only President in many years that has made the decision and taken action to get Federal employment numbers and our national debt under control - This is a very sad statement as both major parties should be working together on an issue as serious as this.
I'm tired of seeing politicians on both sides act like kindergartner's - It's well past time to grow up, act like adults and work together on this issue - We have the right to demand our representatives act in a mature manner and we have the right to demand our representatives stop being so partisan.
"Tariff's were exceptionally successful"
Only because there was no other practical mechanism at the time for collecting revenue (from citizens) for the state. Particularly in the context of a modern economy, tariffs are exceptionally regressive.
It's worth remembering that the American colonists fought for independence in part because the British Crown was forcing them to pay tariffs on goods they imported. Vive la révolution!
Ok, if tariffs are a failure do you have a constructive idea on how to decrease the debt? Do we really need to help China build up further by dealing with them? - I'm in agreement with your comments - However, to my knowledge, the Democratic party has not proposed what they feel is a solution to the problem and, I'm more than willing to listen to a potential solution - In addition, was the chart Trump using showing what other countries charge us for tariffs wrong? I don't think I've seen anyone explain why it's wrong.
I didn't say "tariffs are a failure". I said the Trump administration's tariff policy makes no sense. As one economist put it, on a podcast I was listening to yesterday, they've put the cart before the horse. A smart trade negotiator first develops a plan (e.g. the Chips Act) to achieve specific goals, like onshoring manufacturing of important semiconductors, then applies tariffs strategically, and only as much as necessary, in conjunction with other policies, to accomplish that.
At present, we have the opposite. Trump is like the Anti-Oprah: "You get a tariff, and YOU get a tariff. EVERYbody gets a tariff!" Meanwhile, they haven't described any specific goals.
As for decreasing the debt, that's not the pressing issue. We can afford debt so long as the world is willing to lend us money, and that has been the case for decades because the U.S. has been the safest safe harbor for investments, and the US dollar has been the reserve currency of choice. In the short term, what REALLY imperils our ability to sustain debt is not its level or increase, but the damage the Trump administration is doing to the faith of the world in the US' creditworthiness.
As for the chart, this is what I've seen/heard/read: It didn't actually show the rates of tariffs that other countries impose on US goods. It showed the level of trade deficit, which is a silly metric on which to base bilateral tariff rates, and not only that, but it did not include trade in services, a sector on which the US typically runs huge surpluses.
IF the goal is to reshore manufacturing in the US, this policy is absurd. Nobody is going to make long-term investments of billions of dollars on the basis of this tariff-o-rama. And, even if they did, it would generate very few jobs, as the factories would likely be robotic, since US wages are too high to compete on labor-intensive products (e.g. smartphone assembly) in the world market.
It all makes no sense, and the cover story doesn't fit. They're either unbelievably incompetent or pathologically dishonest. Maybe both. But, the only narrative that makes sense is that their motives and intentions are hidden. I suspect the real goal is to eliminate the system of progressive taxation (in which the rich pay more than the poor) created when the income tax was instituted in 1861.
Remember, tariffs are sales taxes, ultimately paid by consumers (not exporters) and INTENDED to make cheaper imports less competitive and allow domestic manufacturers to keep prices high.
The income tax replaced the tariffs in order to tax the super-wealthy. Tariffs (taxes) were being paid by the middle class and poor.
Income taxes have pounded the middle class. The lower class pays little to no taxes, while the wealthy live inside their businesses writing off everything through teams of accountants. The middle class proportionally pay most of the taxes in this country. Most don't realize the money being robbed from their paycheck is only half of the federal taxes they're paying, their employer is paying the rest. It was designed this way so people don't know how much they're getting screwed. Then these taxpayers watch politicians waste and steal their hard-earned money and we wonder why there's been a political earthquake in this country.
Relying on tariffs for state revenue does nothing to address your concerns. In fact, it will make the situation worse by putting the heaviest burden on the poor and middle class and letting the rich pay almost nothing as a proportion of their income and wealth.
The real answer is to close the loopholes for the rich.
This is simply not true. The top of the tax bracket pays the bulk of all tax revenue collected.
That's the percentage of their income that they are taxed at. What you are not understanding is the wealthy live inside their businesses as much as possible. They own nothing, they earn little income, the business buys everything and it's all written off their taxes. The middle class generally works for business that take all of the deductions while they get di©ked. For what people actually keep of their income the middle class who work for other's gets the short end of the stick.
I'm in real estate, and I'll give you an example. An investor could buy an apartment building, live in part of it, and rent out the rest. Recently, real estate values have gone up significantly, yet the IRS still allows landlords to depreciate their property's and deduct this off there profits, even though their buildings increased in value.
No, thats the percentage of the total tax revenue paid by each earning group. (aka how much of the total pool of taxes collected comes from each)
Which part of what I said is not true?
You said the chart was the percentage of their income that they are taxed at. That is incorrect.
Thats not what the chart depicts. It is depicting the total percentage of the entire taxes collected from a given income group which supports my assertion that the bulk of taxes are paid by the rich.
Per this data, 40.7% of ALL tax revenue comes from the top 5%. 65.8% of ALL tax revenue is coming from the top 20%.
Its not the middle class paying all the tax while all the rich people leverage debt to nearly avoid paying taxes altogether. The wealthy use tax incentives and strategies more effectively to lower their tax burden, but despite that, they still pay the most taxes of any income group, by a long shot. Also this is just personal income tax. If you add corporate taxes collected into this equation, it gets even more lopsided, as it is that the top 1% who own the largest corporations, which also are paying massive tax bills, that aren't even accounted for in this data. Long story short, its the taxes collected from the wealthiest members of society which is the chief funding source for the US government, not taxes collected from the middle class.
I did not say that. You’re confusing me with someone else.
What concerns me more in the long run than tariffs is the manner in which virtually all decisions in Washington are being made. Granted, the Republican party used to stand in favor of free trade, and Democrats were in favor of protective tariffs. In today’s dysfunctional legislative branch of government, Republicans are in favor of whatever Trump wants, and Democrats object to whatever Trump wants… no matter what. Compromise and bipartisanship are nearly dead. Instead of what might be best for the country, politicians clamor for whatever position appeals to the extremists of their party at home, which is mostly ideological nonsense.
First, to anyone in the comments calling our current president 'Rump', that is childish behavior. I don't like it from either side. Second, the Tariffs that are being imposed are only fixing an unfair deal for the United States.
We will get through these if the republicans can hold together. Democrats will only increase the size of government and what our money is wasted on if it doesn't get codified now into law. I agree, executive orders are not the way to go, only the way to start the ball rolling.
Trump is doing lots of good things that will bring down costs here in the US, so what if you pay more for an imported good if your taxes, healthcare and housing prices can be reduced.
I agree that name-calling is so childish. Interesting that you bring it up. In fact, I Googled the question: why people call other people insulting names. And the answer from Gemini was: "People resort to name-calling for various reasons, including expressing anger or frustration, seeking to dominate or control others, or feeling insecure and needing to tear down others to feel superior."
So go back to 2016 and recall the beginning and steady drumbeat since then of prolific name-calling by our current president: Crooked Hillary, Lyin' Ted, Little Marco, Crazy Bernie, Goofy Elizabeth, Ditzy DeVos, Sleepy Joe, to mention just a few. What does that say about our current president? Could it be true that all three reasons as stated by Gemini apply here? If so, is that what we want running the country with executive orders of his own personal choice?
Thank you for voting, but I'm not running for office anywhere. A counter-point or rational comment, especially from those inclined to down-vote, would be much preferred.
The correct answer is anger. Which is the appropriate reaction to a man who sends legal residents to a horror gulag in a banana republic with no legal process BY ACCIDENT and then REFUSES to make any effort to bring them back.
RU and SHAR,
I'm not sure whether to be glad or horrified that you're so willing to be disappeared by the US government.
The irony.. Complains about lack of respect for Trump.
"calling our current president 'Rump', that is childish behavior"
No, that is being polite. What I really call the lying rapist fraud deadbeat would probably violate forum rules, so I'll leave it at Trumpochet. If you don't get the timely reference, I'll be happy to fill you in.
Hey downvoters, "lying rapist fraud deadbeat" is an accurate factual description. We all know he lies compulsively. He's been convicted of sexual assault ("rape" in common parlance). He paid $25 million to settle a lawsuit over his fraudulent Trump University. And, he's known to have stiffed many, many contractors.
A transitional phase makes more sense than this "liberation day", but I do fully support reciprocal trade and immigration policies between nations. It will take decades and the continuity of multiple presidential administrations for manufacturing to remerge in a way that significantly offsets six decades of US deindustrialization.
New gear and tech costing more doesn't bother me much because it's been artificially cheap for decades and has a much longer service life in the UHD era.
When President Obama asked to meet with Steve Jobs in 2010, the late Apple boss, his first question was 'how much would it cost to make the iPhone in the United States, instead of overseas?' Jobs was characteristically blunt, asserting that 'those jobs are never coming back'.
To which I would add... that if more manufacturing does indeed reappear in America, it will be because of machines doing the assembly, not humans. Human labor will, for the foreseeable future, cost numerous times more here than in foreign countries. That's the problem that no amount of tariffs could conceivably rectify. And if robots are running our factories, then we'll still have an unemployment problem. The people with engineering degrees designing the robots will make all the money. Unskilled labor is screwed.
Silver lining: Maybe we'll quell our need to consume everything and anything especially new and shiny stuff. The amount of consumption that goes on in this nation is obscene. And I'm just as guilty as anyone
You may welcome having discipline inflicted on you, but I and most others do not. If you don't have a choice, it's not really discipline, it's deprivation, and that is something that is already too real for many Americans who face homelessness or bankruptcy if an unexpected expense of a few hundred dollars becomes unavoidable.
https://fortune.com/2023/05/23/inflation-economy-consumer-finances-ameri...
Shar is pouting. He has nothing to say.
I'm a free trade guy, however, I'm also a fair trade guy. Historically, consumers paying 100% of the tariff is false. There are numerous parties in a trade transaction, producers, importers, retailers, and consumers. If retailers could charge consumers more they already would. Competition and limited consumer buying power caps what the retailer can charge, so often tariff charges are pushed back towards the producers.
Trade is a very complex issue, and there are many things affecting values/ethics besides tariffs, child/forced labor, lax or no environmental standards, and currency manipulation. Many people don't want to know that Foxconn, who makes their iPhones, has anti-suicide nets around their buildings to prevent workers from leaping to their deaths.
This could be an opportunity for the US to push for free trade. If you're the owner of a billion dollar widget company having to compete with companies not paying a tariff, you only have a few options. Pressure your government to drop tariffs. Move to a non-teriffed country, where there could be immigration/business problems. Or move your company to the US, and now you can even buy citizenship for $5 million. All are beneficial to the US.
My father worked for a Ford manufacturing plant for 35 years until he retired with a pension. My mom stayed home with three kids, and we had a nice home in a middle class neighborhood. We had a vacation every year, and a new car every now and then. These jobs are rapidly disappearing.
The problem is, even though the debter nation has the advantage, Americans are impatient, and a trade war is a game of chicken where the winner outlast the other. Our instant gratification society wants cheap stuff now, when other countries play the long game. It's a large part of why much of our once great manufacturing towns are now abandoned.
This will all be a moot point in 30 years when AI and robotics do all of the manufacturing. The only imports will be commodities.
All tariffs put on foreign imports will be paid for by the American consumer. That's how they work.
America is going to get tariffs so camera equipment will end up costing as much as we pay for it in the UK.
Thx Lee, that gives us non-Americans a little hope that there are still some smart Americans left. I hope that reason will win over ignorance in the long run.
Cheers from Germany
It’s nice to see someone with an economics background actually talking sense in this comment section, but my momentary faith in humanity was spoiled by people parroting the made-up justifications for launching this tariff catastrophe, and some kid cosplaying as fcking Naruto writing 10,000 words trying to justify that it’s all 4D chess actually.
The stated goals, and the behind the scenes documents that have made their way into the public sphere, tell a tale of a master plan that’s as contradictory as it is unlikely to work.
You, me, and the everyman get fck’d hard along the way.
The number of flaccid downvotes in this section is hilarious tho. I’m hoping to crack a dozen but that’s high numbers for an FStoppers article.
Let’s see if I can work this one out. As a result of Trump’s tariffs on Chinese imports, camera bags made in China become a lot more expensive for Americans to buy. A new factory making camera bags is opened in America and jobs are created for Americans. So far, so good. The ‘playing field has been levelled’.
The problem is that American workers in the new camera bag factory will want be paid American wages, not Chinese wages. For this reason, products made in American factories tend to be more expensive than their counterparts made in Far Eastern countries. Imposition of punitive tariffs to discourage competitors from importing their camera bags would do nothing to resolve this.
And what if China decides to make a deal with America? Let us suppose they successfully negotiate a deal and tariffs are reduced or removed. The end result would that the Chinese company could go back to exporting cheap camera bags to America.
Yes, I suppose you could create more manufacturing jobs in America by forcing out competitors, but as I see it, the American people would have to accept that from now on everything was more expensive. The only way round this that I can see would be to have robots working on your production lines instead of people. They never need paying. But surely the whole idea was to create jobs for American people. It doesn’t add up.
This is exactly I think the point of tariffs. The company I contract for imports plastic and steel goods. Let's say you want to CNC/or Injection Mold a plastic 'mouse' casing... Naturally this is way way cheaper done in China. Every part of the business from 'employee' to the 'raw-material-resin' is just a cheaper commodity in China compared to making that same part in the US. But now making that part more expensive to ship back to the US...is in theory where the supposed 'balance', comes into play. However... However... A more balanced price, is still a higher price. Also with a 54% tariff on plastic parts and an even higher tariff on metal parts, it is still going to be cheaper to source from China, just a more expensive one, and felt in the bottom line, like Mr. Morris says. And the consumer will ultimately pay in the end. We have just tacked that onto the 'customer shipping-fees'... already. Of course it's hard to keep up as it changes week to week. Will more companies decide to make things in the US? maybe, but it's still pretty expensive to do so. Generally only things that you have to make in the US, or parts that people refuse to buy from oversees are made in the US. Other than that if you open your computer and you look at the fine print on the parts... they will say: 'Made in China'.
It’s 104% this morning
yes man... oh boy. already put it in our system. I stayed up late last night workin on that.
now...125 yikes.
As a European I have so many questions.
Are there Americans who think those numbers on that so called "reciprocal tariffs" table were representing the tariffs those countries use on American goods? EU 39%.. You guys know the real EU tariffs? It's about 3%!
Reading this article I believe there are even Americans who believe Trumps "reciprocal" high tariffs will be paid by those countries?? That's almost too funny and crazy for me to know how react on that, but I guess if you elect Trump than anything is possible in those minds.
What does Trump mean with "Europe has been really bad to us" and "they have been screwing us"? For delivering goods for (apparently) an attractive price and quality? So he blames us for USA importing more than exporting? That's the rape? The logic.. You do get products for it.
Are there people who believe America can produce everything by itself? Do you think we still live in the 19th century (looks like Trump thinks so looking at his foreign politics concerning Greenland etc.). You won't be hurt by inflation only but also by a stagnant industry. That's an economic horror recipe.
You really think foreign companies are willing to invest or start a factory in America in this uncertain climate? In war intimidation rules. In economics trust and stability rules!
Do the MAGA people realize what was really great about America? It was the image to the outside world. The export of culture and ideas. "Softpower".. Apart form the economic damage there's another big damage in reputation and relations that will very likely cost America even more in the long run. No matter what u turn Trump will make, it seems inevitable that other countries look for alternatives. Everything is moving now. This will be a huge stimulation to smooth out the last imperfections in the trade leg of the EU (+finance and defense). Even enemies China, Japan and South Korea are around the table now.
Unfortunately there are still a lot of red-hatted imbeciles who think foreign countries pay the tariff. Yes, really. Trade wars have always resulted in one of three situations: recession, depression, or war. But TrumPutin really is that GD stupid.
John Williams my post contains a lot of questions and some statements so...
I saw a lot "disagree thumb down" by you , but nowhere what exactly you disagree on and why(?).
lol, he got you too, eh? I think we can imagine why he would take the petulant route 😂
BTW: China to US tariff as of 4/9/2025: For most parts is 54%. It was an additional 34% on top of 20%. Steel/Aluminum is even higher at 72.5%. Don't know about other countries. But I deal with imports from China. And the deminmus is set to expire in few weeks again.
Sony 400-800 mm lens listed by Amazon at $2900 yesterday has changed to $3700 today. BH still has it at $2900. Of course we are paying that extra cost.
I know amazon and prime is a favorite market for myself, but it is not really a 'Camera-Store'. Where B&H is actually official.
P.S. That Sony 400-800mm one on Amazon you see is just a guy trying to rip you off for a used one, and probably not even real.
There’s not much any country can do because there is no government interference preventing imports from the US. These tariffs are based on a century-old outdated idea of trade imbalance, something that the global economy cannot undo.
The US will not return to manufacturing clothes, shoes and glass bottles - because no one will work in factories for 10c / day.
And besides we don’t want to regress from the tech economy we have now.
Only idiots making absurd claims about mythical billionaires believe textile and simple manufacturing will return to the US.
Instead, Trump has created an unnecessary self-defeating economic meltdown, and imposed a massive tax on everyone living here.
If you voted for Trump you are an idiot and this was always gonna happen. If you did not vote for Trump you are a wise man and a wise person or a wise woman and my condolences to you. Trump is dangerous and everyone could see what he was going to do months before the election, but people still voted for him. It's staggers me that people could actually vote for him.
Alright, let’s walk through this clearly and calmly, because the panic coming from people like Lee Morris over these tariffs is seriously overblown. Yes, prices might go up a bit. Yes, some camera gear is going to cost more in the short term. But this isn’t the end of the industry. It’s not economic collapse. It’s a temporary, strategic move to fix a decades-long problem. So let’s stop treating it like the sky is falling.
Tariffs aren’t some evil tax designed to punish consumers. They’re a tool. A pressure tactic. They’re being used to push countries that have been taking advantage of us to finally play fair. And guess what? They’re not permanent. They’re designed to apply short-term discomfort to create long-term balance. That’s how negotiation works.
Now, Morris brings up a few fair points about domestic manufacturing taking time to rebuild. He’s right. We’re not going to snap our fingers and open 50 new factories next month. But that doesn’t mean you don’t start. If you want to bring manufacturing back, you have to create the environment where it makes sense to invest here again. Tariffs help make that case.
And let’s not forget, the administration has already issued hundreds of exemptions for key goods. They’re not hitting everything blindly. There’s a strategy here. Energy products, essential chemicals, vaccines—things critical to keeping the economy moving—are getting relief. This is not a blunt instrument. It’s targeted, flexible, and clearly thought through.
Also, let’s be real. Most of the people complaining are the same ones who happily spend $4,000 on the latest camera body every 18 months. If the price jumps by a couple hundred dollars for a little while, that’s not financial ruin. That’s the cost of doing what needs to be done to get our leverage back.
So take a breath. These tariffs are a tool. They’re short-term. They’re part of a bigger strategy. And no, they’re not going to destroy the photography industry. They’re a step toward making sure the next generation doesn’t have to buy every last thing from countries that laugh at us while cashing our checks. That’s worth a little patience.
I find it interesting so many are complaining about the tariff's but I have seen zero about the accuracy of Trump's tariff chart and what others charge the USA - Does that imply the chart showing what other countries, including allies, charge us?
Tonights NY Times (04/08/2025), the online version, in a large point size, clearly states "U.S. Implements Punishing Tariff's on Trade Partners" - Because I no longer subscribe to the Times I am unable to see if they get into a discussion of what our allies, or others tariff us - Trump's chart, assuming it's accurate, shows tariff rates to us at substantially higher rates - Are any media outlets discussing this?
And then of course you have MSNBC who seems to be totally incapable of presenting a balanced story...
Add that to politicians who act like kindergartners - We've managed to turn into a real mess - I do hope this fiasco begins to go Trump's way or we as a country will experience a lot of pain.
As an American citizen I think we have the right to demand politicians act like adults, to be able to sit down together and hammer out solutions together - In addition, I think we have the right to demand balanced stories out of the media - Put your opinions on the Op-Ed page where they belong.
By the way... does anyone in Washington have a realistic plan to bring down the national debt or do we allow it to become ever larger?