News about tariffs

The think tank IPPR says Britain should make EU membership its medium-term goal as Andy Burnham sets out options for the country's relationship with the bloc at the UK-EU summit in Brussels on November 20. The report argues Britain lacks the scale to handle Russian aggression, American unreliability and Chinese coercion alone, and that hedging between the US and Europe is a strategy for survival rather than success. It proposes working with the EU on defence, manufacturing and democratic resilience as steps toward membership. It also warns that joining the EU's 'Made in Europe' scheme could require aligning with EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, potentially putting net zero targets at risk. Polling by Persuasion UK in June found 52% of people support rejoining and 29% oppose, though concerns about EU budget contributions and replacing the pound with the euro could damage support.

At a Topeka event, Zac Surritt of R&S Maintenance told Sen. Roger Marshall that Trump's tariffs had reduced global demand, squeezed margins and forced the company to delay expansion plans. Marshall said this experience was likely an anomaly, since most manufacturers he has spoken with are expanding, and argued that tariffs are helping Kansas manufacturing grow. Democratic challenger Adam Hamilton said business leaders need stability, criticized the 56 tariff changes made in the past year, and called on Congress to reassert its authority over tariffs. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimated that tariffs imposed in 2025 and 2026 added 2.9 percentage points to inflation across a basket of 67 consumer goods, while the Tax Foundation put the average cost at $820 per household in 2026.

Zac Surritt, a leader at Kansas metal fabrication firm R&S Maintenance, says tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump have cut global demand and margins, raised transportation and living costs for employees, and forced the company to delay expansion. Republican Senator Roger Marshall, running for reelection against Democrat Adam Hamilton, called the experience likely an anomaly since most manufacturers are expanding, and said the tariffs are bringing jobs back to America. Hamilton criticized the policy's instability, citing 56 tariff changes in the past year, and said Trump's insults toward Canada, which imports $4 billion of goods from Kansas annually, and doubts about Bombardier, which has 1,500 employees in Sedgwick County, were damaging. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported that tariffs in 2025 and 2026 added 2.9 percentage points to inflation across a basket of 67 everyday consumer goods, while the Tax Foundation estimated an average cost of $820 per household in 2026.

The 2026 Paris Auto Show was bigger than past editions despite absences from BMW, MG and most Japanese OEMs, with Chinese brands such as BYD, Geely and XPENG showing affordable, tech-packed EVs. European carmakers are responding with faster EV development, sharper pricing and retro-inspired designs, including a revival of the city car segment that Chinese OEMs have largely avoided because EU tariffs squeeze its thin margins. The author singles out the new Smart #2, a two-seater with a 36 kWh LFP battery, a 290 km WLTP range and a 308-liter trunk, priced from 20,000 euros, and estimates it could sell around 40,000 units a year. The Citroën 2 CV revival, priced at 15,000 euros, will only begin deliveries in 2028, which the author sees as a drawback.

Zac Surritt, who leads strategic growth at Kansas metal fabrication firm R&S Maintenance, told Republican Senator Roger Marshall that Trump's tariffs had cut demand and margins, raised transport costs and forced the company to delay expansion. Marshall, who is seeking reelection against Democrat Adam Hamilton, said this experience was likely an anomaly because most manufacturers he had spoken with were expanding, and argued that tariffs were helping Kansas manufacturing grow. Hamilton countered that the state's largest employers criticized the instability tariffs had created, noting 56 tariff changes in the past year, and called Trump's insults toward Canada, which imports $4 billion in Kansas goods annually, a blunder. The Tax Foundation estimated the average household cost of Trump's tariff policy at $820 per residence in 2026.

The author argues that President Donald Trump blamed Joe Biden for high prices at an Oct. 14 Arizona rally, while Trump's policies over two years in office created a massive inflation bubble. The piece notes that Trump made his claim that tariffs don't cause inflation hours after new federal data showed inflation rising again, driven largely by gasoline. It also criticizes Trump's deal relaxing sanctions on Russian diesel, which drew bipartisan calls for reversal, doubts from economists about lower prices, and pushback from Ukraine and GOP allies, with Vladimir Putin possibly the only clear beneficiary. The author says Democrats have not offered a clear way forward, so they do not yet earn the author's vote.

Chestermere-Strathmore MLA Chantelle de Jonge, ahead of an Alberta referendum and amid AI backlash and US trade tensions, says the provincial government remains focused on responsible resource development, job creation and strengthening Alberta's economy within Canada. She said she ran on an Alberta First platform because of frustration with federal policies, but was not elected on a separatist mandate, and that Albertans should be able to voice their views through a democratic process. She cautioned against escalating the trade dispute, saying tariffs and counter-tariffs harm both Americans and Canadians, and urged diplomacy. On AI and data centres, which have prompted town halls in communities such as Langdon and Indus, she said Alberta is developing consistent province-wide standards so large data centres are built far from residential areas. She also noted ground was recently broken on the Dawson's Landing school in Chestermere with Rocky View Schools.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump will take up to 60 days to assess the economic impact of sanctions and tariffs on Russia, amid the Ukraine conflict and the war with Iran, which have disrupted global energy supply and pushed fuel prices higher. On October 16, Trump signed an order suspending key measures under the Graham Act, but on October 17 he said no final decision had been made, and the order did not specify how long the suspension would last. The measures include tariffs on Russian goods and sanctions on countries buying Russian oil and gas, and also tariffs on goods from countries that import Russian energy, including India. Trump also said Russia would initially supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel to the U.S., while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the move could embolden Vladimir Putin and prolong the war.

Trump has blocked numerous Russia sanctions two days before they were due to take effect, deepening his row with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The sanctions were passed by Congress and signed into law by Trump in September, but his executive order on Friday night said suspending some was in the US 'national interest', drawing backlash from US lawmakers. Ties with Kyiv have frayed after the US struck a controversial deal to import Russian diesel, and Ukraine accused the administration of withdrawing key military support. The law gave Trump power to levy tariffs of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian oil and gas, mainly China and India, and targeted Putin, Russian banks and the 'shadow fleet', but many of these provisions are now waived. Democrats including Virginia Congressman Don Beyer accused Trump of capitulating to Moscow and betraying Ukraine.

According to a report from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP), released on October 8, Trump administration policies could cost a typical middle-income American about $1,700 more in 2026, while the poorest 20% would pay about $750 more and the wealthiest 1% could save about $12,560. The analysis covers tax provisions in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the expiration of COVID-era ACA health insurance tax credits, and price increases tied to tariffs, the Iran war and immigration policies. For a middle-income taxpayer, the new tax law saves about $380, while price effects cost about $1,850 and the credit expiration about $230. The White House disputes this view, saying the policies helped stop inflation and support growth and jobs, and some policy experts question how the report calculates costs and benefits.

The page is a collection of analysis on artificial intelligence, online platforms, prices, jobs and trade, focused on what the evidence shows and where questions remain open. It covers research on generative AI and work, including which jobs are exposed and what productivity and employment data have shown so far. Other topics include AI-generated voices and images in politics, rules for robocalls and political ads, and how to check suspicious clips. It also explains what the Consumer Price Index measures compared with the PCE index the Fed targets, what a tariff is, who pays it, what research found about recent U.S. tariffs, and the laws presidents use to impose them.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods, paid to U.S. Customs and Border Protection by the importer of record, though who ultimately bears the cost is a separate question. Studies of the 2018 and 2019 tariffs on steel, aluminum, washing machines and Chinese goods found nearly the full cost was passed through to U.S. importers and often consumers, while foreign exporters cut prices only modestly. Tariffs can also raise prices for domestic producers of the protected goods, add costs for industries using imported inputs, and provoke retaliation, as China's 2018 response forced the government to pay farmers tens of billions of dollars in aid. Presidents rely on laws including Section 232, Section 301, Section 201 and IEEPA, which was used in 2025 for broad tariffs and challenged in court up to the Supreme Court. The article advises checking the current status of those tariffs, since they have changed repeatedly.