InProgress

from the Center for American Progress

One year after “Liberation Day,” Americans are paying the price for President Trump’s tariffs

Photo: Getty Images

One year after “Liberation Day,” the Trump administration’s promised economic revival has failed to materialize. Instead, tariffs have driven up costs, strained businesses, and weighed on workers across the country. The data now show a clear throughline: The Trump administration’s tariffs are costing business owners and workers alike and making it harder for Americans to get ahead.

In the first year of the Trump administration’s tariff policies, tariff bills for small-business importers tripled, with the average business paying $306,000 more. These businesses—many of which rely on imported goods as inputs—have been forced to absorb higher prices, cut into already thin margins, or pass costs along to customers. For many, there are few viable alternatives to overseas suppliers, making the tariffs an unavoidable burden. Rather than leveling the playing field, tariffs have left small-business importers struggling to stay afloat.

Workers are also feeling the effects one year after the administration’s tariff rollout. Industries exposed to retaliatory tariffs and rising input costs have seen declining growth, with 189,000 blue-collar jobs lost since “Liberation Day.” In many cases, employers have responded by slowing hiring or reducing hours, leaving workers with fewer opportunities and less economic security. Far from delivering broad-based gains, the policy has translated into tangible setbacks for American workers, particularly in the manufacturing industry. In fact, the 89,000 manufacturing jobs lost since April 2025 are equivalent to the closure of 2,800 average-size factories nationwide.

8 million people showed up to ‘No Kings’ 3.0, moving us even closer to the 3.5 percent benchmark

In a powerful display of deepening nonviolent mobilization, an estimated 8 million Americans gathered at “No Kings” rallies across the United States to protest the authoritarian policies and actions of the Trump administration. In approximately 3,300 cities and towns in all 50 states, people across the political spectrum peacefully exercised their First Amendment right to dissent, setting yet another record for a single-day U.S. protest.

Given the current trajectory, the nation may soon see 12 million Americans, or approximately 3.5 percent of the population, engaged in multiple forms of nonviolent mobilization. As CAP has discussed, when 3.5 percent of a nation’s population peacefully mobilizes and sustains itself at key moments, the government can be forced to address their demands. 

WATCH NOW: Robert Reich discusses undoing Citizens United with CAP senior fellow Tom Moore 

ICYMI: Economic experts discuss the cost of Trump’s war 

President Donald Trump’s war of choice on Iran has wreaked havoc on the global economy, most significantly by disrupting transit of global oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz. The financial toll of the war has imposed new tradeoffs on the federal budget and caused prices to soar for millions of American consumers.

Earlier today, the Center for American Progress hosted an online discussion on the economic costs of the U.S. war in Iran, featuring expert and CAP senior fellow Jared Bernstein and MIT Professor of Economics Dr. Catherine Wolfram.