How U.S. tariffs are hiding in plain sight

How U.S. tariffs are hiding in plain sight

There haven't been sudden spikes at the register, but economists and Fed officials expect prices to rise soon

Tariffs are back… bigger and better than ever

In 2025, the U.S. enacted the most significant trade policy shift in decades, with average tariffs rising from roughly 2.4 per cent in January to approximately 18–20 per cent by August, levels not seen since the 1930s. In some cases, duties on Chinese imports have exceeded 50 per cent, marking a sharp departure from the stable global trade arrangements of recent decades. This week, on 11 August, 2025, the U.S. president signed an executive order…