It would be a good guess that if you’re not confused by all the news on Donald Trump’s tariff policies, you’re at least frustrated. Although he claims that America is profiting from imposing taxes on imports, there is no evidence of that, and the stock market is the most volatile it’s been in years, with the retirement accounts of millions at stake.
But there’s also a cost where the rubber hits the road, namely Main Street, U.S.A. – or translated to Urban America, MLK Boulevard. That’s because so very many of the products you buy, ranging from clothes and shoes to hair extensions and toys, come from China, against which the Trump administration has levied a 145 percent tariff.
Trump did announce a 90-day pause on most global tariffs, which keeps them at 10 percent, but he is targeting products coming from the People’s Republic, which has whole cities dedicated to producing goods for the American market.
This means the economic cost to Black Americans, for example, whose median household income was $54,000 annually in 2023, could potentially put Black wealth and well-being in serious jeopardy.
“For Black and brown people, who statistically spend the most as a percentage of wealth, the impact is going to be severe,” Calvin Boomer, a financial analyst, told The Washington Informer in March. “This isn’t just about trade policy—it’s about survival for communities already fighting economic disparity.”
As an example, the cost of shoes and clothes that are manufactured in China, or have China as part of their supply chain are expected to rise significantly as a result of tariffs. Apparel and footwear spending by Black Americans, according to one report, was expected to rise to $70 billion by 2030. But that could be affected by the tariff hike.
According to the Associated Press, the trade group Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said 99% of shoes sold in the U.S. are imports. Chinese-made children’s shoes that cost $26 today will likely jump to $41 by the fall. A pair of $77 work boots would rise to $115.
China-based online retailers of low-cost items Temu and Shein have announced they will be raising prices due to the tariffs next week. Many of these items wind up sold in sundry stores in Black and low-income communities. They had been able to avoid the tariff jump, but Trump dropped a customs exemption for goods worth less than $800 to enter the United States duty-free.
Economist Julienne Malveaux explained in an op-ed published in the Informer that imposing such punitive tariffs’ only “hits low-income consumers where they spend, especially because many lower-cost goods come from China.”
“All these tariffs do is increase the cost of imported goods. So a car manufactured in Mexico that once cost $30,000 will now cost $37,500,” she wrote. “Whoever buys the car at $37,500 will normally mark it up, and they might absorb some of the costs or pass them all along to the consumer. The price hikes may drive consumers to lower-priced cars that are manufactured here, but manufacturing is international. Auto parts come from everywhere. Our markets are international, something the current president seems to have forgotten.”
With a reported $1.7 trillion in buying power, and a current inflation rate of about 2.4 percent, but also a 6.5 percent unemployment rate, and all communities of color having disproportionately higher debt ratios, it remains to be seen exactly what the ultimate outcome will be on communities of color.
“We’re going to feel this in Black and brown communities,” Financial expert Allan Boomer said in the Informer. “Any community that spends money as a high percentage of their wealth — whether Black, white or Latino — is going to be hit hard. But for Black and Brown people, who statistically spend the most as a percentage of wealth, the impact is going to be severe.”
