Several sources indicate that tariffs disproportionately impact Blacks, the poor and low-income households, both in the United States and globally.
Tariffs are a regressive tax: They apply to imported goods, and lower-income families tend to spend a larger portion of their income on these items, especially necessities like clothing, food, and home goods. Wealthier households can often afford to purchase more expensive domestic alternatives or adjust their spending patterns more easily.
Tariffs increase the cost of imported goods, and businesses often pass these costs on to consumers in the form of higher prices. Also, tariffs can limit the availability of certain imported goods, particularly those that are more affordable,
Tariffs can lead to job losses in industries that rely on imported materials or face retaliatory tariffs from other countries, potentially hitting low-income communities and workers without higher education particularly hard.
A recent analysis found that tariffs implemented in 2025 could result in an average income loss of $2,400 per household, with low-income households facing disproportionately larger losses.
Research from the Cato Institute highlighted how the U.S. tariff code has historically been tougher on lower-end versions of goods compared to their higher-end counterparts, particularly in categories like clothing and food.
The World Trade Organization emphasizes that tariffs can exacerbate economic disparities, especially impacting low-income households, women, and smaller businesses that may struggle with the increased costs and complexities of trade barriers.
Executive actions, meanwhile, are undermining basic governance while hollowing out the federal workforce, a key source of opportunity for Black households since it desegregated in 1948, and vital for building the Black middle class. And, the Trump Administration’s extreme tariff scheme will cost jobs, raise the price of many goods, and create an uncertain environment that is harmful to businesses and particularly Black-owned businesses, which are often relatively small and less well connected to government officials, and thus less likely to obtain exemptions from tariffs.
Opportunity should be available to everyone no matter their race, color, or creed. The Administration’s agenda limits the opportunities for Black and other households to live in healthy and thriving communities, to have the chance to move forward in life, and to be free from worry about “just getting by.
