America's misguided 'tariff stick' adds burden to businesses and consumers

(Cartoon by Ma Hongliang)

Since taking office, the new U.S. administration has been making waves with its tariff policies.

On Feb. 11, a White House official announced that U.S. President Donald Trump planned to impose an additional 25-percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports to the U.S.

This followed a similar move on Feb. 1, when Trump signed an executive order imposing a 25-percent tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico. On Feb. 3, however, the president took to social media to announce that the tariff on Canadian imports would be suspended for 30 days.

Instead of solving the problems the U.S. government intends to address, these high tariffs will only add to the burden on American businesses and consumers.

Moody's, a leading rating agency, has pointed out that American consumers bear the brunt of these tariffs, absorbing 92 percent of the additional costs resulting from the increased tariffs on Chinese goods.

According to the agency's estimates, each U.S. household pays an average of $1,300 more annually due to these tariffs.