Policy Memo
Topline
President Trump was elected to restore America’s economy after four years of Bidenflation. However, Trump’s tariff taxes could cost American families thousands of dollars a year, destroy American jobs, and potentially lose conservatives their governi
For more information, please contact AAF Policy Director John Shelton at jshelton@advancingamericanfreedom.com
April 2, 2025 Spoiling America’s Golden Age: Tariffs Could End America’s Golden Age Before It Begins
TOPLINE: President Trump was elected to restore America’s economy after four years of Bidenflation. However, Trump’s tariff taxes could cost American families thousands of dollars a year, destroy American jobs, and potentially lose conservatives their governing majority.
The Trump Tariff Tax will cost American families more than $3,500 per year: • Estimates from Goldman Sachs place the annual tariff impact close to $300 billion a year.
o The median American family earns about $101,000 a year. A new $3,500 tax would
easily erase three years’ worth of pay raises for most families. • Trump’s personal trade advisor Peter Navarro predicts an even bleaker $600 billion in new tariffs every year, equal to a $7,000 annual tariff burden on each American family.
o American dream purchases—such as a new car or a home—could cost ~$7,000
dollars more, destroying years’ worth of savings. The Trump Tariff Tax is the largest peacetime tax hike in U.S. history: • The proposed tariffs would be the highest levels since the 1800s—exceeding the 1920s levels that contributed to the Great Depression: • These are nearly 10x the size of those imposed during the Trump-Pence Administration. • Trump’s Tariff Tax threatens to wipe out the entire value of the 2017 Trump-Pence tax cuts for the bottom 40% of workers. BUSINESS 101: Uncertainty kills American jobs: • 1,230 Americans at Ohio-based steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs are losing their jobs. Whirlpool announced 651 layoffs at an Iowa factory. Wolfspeed (a semiconductor firm) announced the elimination of 180 North Carolina jobs, while Milgard Manufacturing announced a layoff affecting nearly 400 Californian workers. • Last year, GM distributed $14,500 and Ford paid out $10,400 in profit-sharing bonuses to union employees. The Trump Tariff Tax threatens to zero out these bonuses. Americans elected President Trump to fix the economy: • Failure to fix Bidenomics will devastate conservatives' prospects next election season. • During the first half of the Biden presidency, real wages declined and remained below 2020 levels. This stagnation was a leading factor behind Harris’ loss.
o The Trump Tariff Tax will decimate real family income just like Bidenflation. • Only 39 percent of voters now approve Trump’s handling of the economy—his lowest rating of either term. BOTTOMLINE: American families are still reeling from 20% Bidenflation. An equally large Trump Tariff Tax will hurt families and make them look elsewhere come the next election.