Big Take Who’s Really Paying for Tariffs? Hint: It’s Not Foreign Companies
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Aug 11, 2025 
Stacey Vanek Smith, a financial journalist and co-host of Bloomberg Businessweek's Everybody's Business, dives into the world of tariffs and their hidden costs. She explains how the recent spike in U.S. tariff rates affects not just importers but everyday consumers as well. The discussion reveals that it’s actually Americans footing the bill through rising prices and shrinkflation. Smith also unpacks the complexities businesses face under these tariffs, especially in low-margin sectors like seafood, raising questions about the sustainability of such financial strategies.
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Tariffs Collected At Entry Ports
- Customs brokers and the importer of record declare tariffs when shipments arrive at U.S. ports.
- Importers must pay the calculated tariff (typically within two weeks) or post bonds to release goods.
Tariffs Raise Revenue But Won't Replace Taxes
- Tariffs can generate substantial revenue but will not replace income from business and personal taxes.
- Economists say tariff receipts fall far short of offsetting large tax cuts claimed by policymakers.
Three-and-a-Half Ways Tariff Costs Land
- Economist Justin Wolfers frames three main payers: foreign firms, U.S. firms, U.S. consumers, plus a half outcome where trade stops.
- Which scenario plays out determines who ultimately absorbs the tariff burden.