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Bryan Riley, director of the National Taxpayers Union’s Free
Trade Initiative, said tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump
cost about $3,300 per household in Illinois, even though
families may not be paying that much directly.
“In the state of Illinois, about three-fourths of the tariffs
hit manufacturers and producers and make it harder for them to
compete in the global economy,” Riley told The Center Square.
After Trump’s recent promise to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian
vehicles, auto parts and steel on Jan. 1, Riley said businesses
don’t know what to expect.
“How do you decide what to plant if you're a farmer? How do you
decide when to source your products, your inputs if you're a
manufacturer and which countries to bring them from?” Riley
said.
Riley said most of Canada’s tariffs are in retaliation against
U.S. tariffs.
According to NTUF estimates at tariffs.org, Illinois paid an
extra $1.2 billion in tariffs for steel, aluminum and other
metals, plus an extra $1.1 billion for tariffs on auto parts.
“If your auto insurance bill goes up this year, it might not
have anything to do with your driving. It's because those car
insurance companies pay for a lot of auto parts to repair those
cars that have been in accidents,” Riley said.
Riley said health insurance is another example.
“If the cost of health care goes up because we've got tariffs on
medical supplies, same thing. The cost gets hidden and buried in
the costs, but it really affects a broad range of different
items,” Riley said.
Illinois’ estimated $17 billion in tariff costs ranked fifth in
the country and second only to Michigan in the Midwest.
No federal agency has published an estimate of what the tariffs
cost the U.S. importers who pay them or the consumers who may
bear higher prices.
Brett Rowland contributed to this story
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