Statement·other·said 2024-05-14
“Tariffs are a "direct, regressive tax on Americans" and President Joe Biden's new tariffs on Chinese goods will "hit every family."”
Proof of utterancewhere they said it
Verdict
Mixedby PolitiFact
2024-05-17Reasoning
PolitiFact rated this Half True: economists broadly agree tariffs function as a regressive tax raising consumer prices that disproportionately hurt lower-income households, supporting the first half of the claim. However, Biden's May 2024 tariffs were narrowly targeted at products like Chinese EVs, steel and aluminum that make up a small share of U.S. imports, so experts said the impact on a $25 trillion economy would be limited and "very few" Americans would feel direct effects — undercutting the claim that the tariffs would hit "every family."
Proof of outcomewhat backs the verdict