“The historic rise in costs for American businesses, farmers and consumers is only the beginning”

Reality bites. Here’s the impact — so far — of President Trump’s misguided tariff policies.

U.S. businesses shelled out $4.4 billion in tariffs in September, a surge of more than 50 percent from the same month a year ago, according to the groups, which are operating under a coalition called Tariffs Hurt the Heartland. The increase was largely driven by $1.4 billion in Trump administration tariffs on Chinese imports and foreign steel and aluminum, the group said.

“The historic rise in costs for American businesses, farmers and consumers is only the beginning,” coalition spokesman Charles Boustany said in a statement. Boustany, a Republican, represented Louisiana in the House for over a decade.

We shouldn’t be surprised that poor policy — tariffs — creates bad outcomes.