KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Experts say paying higher prices with the increase in tariffs is expected for families, but not all at once.
Yale University’s Budget Lab says the price level from all 2025 tariffs will cause prices to rise about 3% in the short run.
The University's Budget Lab stated in their study the price level from all 2025 tariffs rises by 2.9% in the short-run, the equivalent of an average per household consumer loss of $4,700 in 2024 dollars.
The cost is about half as much for households making less income.
“That's a yearly tax increase, and the reason that it won't feel like such a shock is that it won't be all at once,” said Dan Owens, an associate professor of economics at Johnson County Community College.
Owens says the latest inflation numbers from March are good, but past inflation hikes are good practice for dealing with tariff-induced price increases.
“We’ve kind of gotten good at that the last couple of years when we had inflation,” Owens said.
Researchers also say consumers face an overall average effective tariff rate of 25.3%, the highest since 1909.
“Economists across the board, from more liberal to more conservative, do not think these tariffs are a good idea,” Owens said. “Trade has made our country a lot wealthier, but everybody hasn’t shared in that prosperity.”
Owens said limited, targeted tariffs could make for a less burdensome tax consumers would pay.
President Trump’s end goal of more American-manufactured goods is something that won’t happen overnight, Owens says.
“Those supply chains have been built out over many years, and I think it would take a few years to make that adjustment,” he said.
Rashid Khalaf knows nothing happens overnight.
He’s been running his international store, Shahrazad International Market, for over a decade.
“We have customers who grew up over there in the Middle East or Europe, and they want the thing that they grew up with,” Khalaf said.
He says he tries as much as possible to get items that customers want.
That certainty is something he appreciates.
The uncertainty that comes with tariffs is less than ideal.
“If you have tariffs that go like 40% to Turkey or Lebanon or Jordan, that would be disaster for us,” Khalaf said. “Honestly, people would get very upset.”
He says he’s willing to absorb some of the costs for his customers, but that’ll only go so far.
Khalaf also says stocking up isn’t necessarily an option for the majority of his goods, which are perishable items.
“We're expecting higher prices, but for now, I believe that with the 90 days pause, hopefully it stays almost the same,” Khalaf said.
His shelves are full, and so is his mind.
“You worry, you try also to think what should you do,” he said.
So far, he’s still dwelling on a plan B.
What he knows for certain is that uncertainty isn’t cheap.
“Not too many people are willing to try new things,” Khalaf said. “Especially when prices are really high, people are really particular with their money.”
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KSHB 41 reporter Rachel Henderson covers neighborhoods in Wyandotte and Leavenworth counties. Share your story idea with Rachel.
