Trump's tariff theories forget timing and that voters are also consumers

Trump's tariff theories forget timing, and that voters are also consumers. Even if Trump's theory that tariff wars will eventually benefit the economy, a timing problem will backfire on the GOP politically. Even if manufacturing comes back to the US, it takes years to build up domestic production facilities and capacity, well past the 2026 midterms and into 2028. Trump's tariff war will have an outsized impact on politics because all voters are also consumers, as tariff "taxes" price hikes will begin at once, some not until after pre-tariff inventory is eaten through. The tariff impact on higher prices will be felt by consumers well before the 2026 midterms.

Without cheaper competition from imports, domestic producers will be tempted to raise their prices to get higher profit margins (the difference between what the market will bear if consumers buy at the price, and what it costs to produce and sell). Products with imported parts will see some prices rise immediately.

I am no economist, but I do follow the impact public policy has on consumers, the focus of my 30-year career in public and government relations as both a regulator and an advocate for consumer rights. 

70 percent of the US economy is consumer-related. Sticker shock will be voter shock, especially for those who thought Trump cared about the prices and inflation. You can count on Democrats to chant we told you so and Trump himself is the one who caused the pain through his "tariff taxes". Those sensitive to prices for everyday consumer goods like clothes and electronics will be the most affected. Those who benefit, such as steel and auto manufacturing, in job creation and salaries, are far outnumbered by the number of price-sensitive consumers who are also voters. It will be even painful for the middle class if the Trump tariff war causes a recession with layoffs and 401 (k) s tanking.The result will be a decline in consumer buying as consumers adjust to the new reality. That, in turn, can also discourage investments in manufacturing and lead to layoffs.

Trump's trumpeting that manufacturing will "come roaring back to the US" has a timing problem. It takes years to construct new manufacturing facilities, and those facilities will be far more automated, far less employing human workers, so this will generate far fewer jobs than this would have been a decade ago. It will take several years for those facilities to be built, and by that time, both the 2026 and 2028 election seasons will be in the rear view mirror.

Update: 4/4/2025 Federal reserves did not lower interest rates because of uncertainties of labor shortage (immigration) and tariff policies length and amount with unknown specifics which could increase inflation. Interest rates are the only tool to cool inflation, so it is not the time to lower interest rates now. Inflation, then, still lurks in the future, it appears. The Trump administration had pressured the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. Instead, 4/4/2025, the Fed made no changes. ( Trump had threatened to take over the central bank fed decisions to suit his policies and political interests. It is a move that the dictator of Turkey, Erdogan, used to consolidate his power and now the value of the currency dropped from about 2 to one to the US dollar to 30 to one...The same disastrous policies of dropping interest rates for political reasons plagued he economies of South America for years. ) Turkey’s Erdogan sacks central bank governor after rate hike | Recep Tayyip Erdogan News | Al Jazeera      Why Turkey's currency is crashing after Erdogan got reelected | AP News