Despite the US president’s efforts to downplay the risks of his strategy, Americans are increasingly concerned about Donald Trump’s efforts to completely overhaul the US economy with tariffs on foreign goods, according to an exclusive Guardian poll.
“Don’t be afraid, we’ll win everything!!” Trump wrote on Thursday about the true society, claiming that tariffs are already “pouring money” to the country.
But the fear is growing. Given a list of issues such as inflation, healthcare, immigration, 72% of Americans said they were concerned about tariffs.
The survey was conducted in early March by a Harris poll. When conducting the same survey in mid-January, 61% of those voted said tariffs were a concern.
A lot has changed since then. Since returning to the White House, Trump has sought tariffs on many of the US’s major trading partners. He added a 20% tariff on Chinese imports and incorporated hiking tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports.
The president also threatens to go further next month, pledging “mutual” tariffs on all imports from around the world and universal tariffs on all products imported from Canada and Mexico.
Amid widespread concern, Trump and his cabinet have spent the last few weeks claiming that the strategy would bring jobs back to the US and ultimately lead to higher wages. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick admitted last week that a recession was possible, suggesting that this was “worthy.”
But so far, most Americans seem skeptical of this vision. 66% believe that the US economy will take years to recover from Trump’s tariffs, according to a survey.
The country remains divided. As recent polls show, how people view the economy under Trump depends on their political parties. Republicans were less likely to be concerned about the economy and inflation, potential recessions and tariffs than Democrats and independents.
90% of Democrats and 69% of independents said they were concerned about tariffs compared to 57% of Republicans.
89% of Democrats and 75% of Independents say they are concerned about the possibility of a US recession, compared to 65% of Republicans.
85% of Democrats and 62% of Independents say it will take years for the US economy to recover from tariffs, compared to 52% of Republicans.
It’s a sudden reversal of how Republicans and Democrats viewed the economy last year while Joe Biden was president. Last May, 70% of Republicans said their economy was getting worse, compared to 26% who showed the same last month. In comparison, 69% of Democrats say the economy is currently deteriorating, compared to 36% who said the same thing in May.
This also reflects whether someone believes tariffs on Canada and Mexico are justified. The majority of Republicans believe tariffs are justified – 79% on Mexico, 75% on Canada – believe that around 40% of Democrats and independents are the same.
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All-out Americans are still worried about the cost of living. Most Democrats (91%) and independents (88%), along with 82% of Republicans, say they are concerned about the economy and inflation. Similar majority said they were worried that they could afford their living expenses.
The Trump administration only doubled its strategy in response to retaliatory tariffs on US exports, threatening more tariffs.
When Ontario threatened tariffs on electricity exports to the US last week, Trump said it would double the tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada to 50%. Trump admitted after Ontario said he would lower tariffs. Trump said he would impose a 200% tariff on European alcohol imports after the EU charged retaliation fees on US exports worth $28 billion, including a 50% tax on US bourbon exports.
Trump’s claims about tariffs go against growing concern that the policy could ultimately lead to a recession. Uncertainty has shaken Wall Street. Wall Street has had turbulence in the past few weeks despite recent better data reports on inflation that showed general stability in the labor market and the economy.
What most people agree, regardless of the parties: the majority (59%) believe that tariffs will not last long. That includes 61% of Republicans, 60% of Democrats and 55% of independents.
“Most Americans have the feeling that they’ll pass this too,” said John Gelzema, CEO of Harris Paul. “However, there is growing concern that tariffs could have lasting and unknowing effects on the economy, whether they return soon or not.”
