(The Center Square) – A poll shows 20% of likely Tennessee voters are unsure about the effects of tariffs.
The Beacon Center asked 1,200 residents about their views on taxes that countries impose, often to curb influence or raise revenue. It’s also used as leverage. Former president Donald Trump is touting their use on the campaign trail.
Forty-one percent of those polled said they believed tariffs are “a necessary tool to protect American-made products, even if they temporarily raise costs.” More than half of respondents who agreed with the statement identified as Republicans, 26% are Democrats and 34% said they are independent voters.
Thirty-nine percent agreed with the statement: “Tariffs are essentially taxes that increase the cost of goods for consumers and can worsen inflation.” Democrats made up 56% of those, Republicans 33% and 32% are independents.
The poll showed that 16% of Republicans, 18% of Democrats and 34% of independent voters weren’t sure how they felt about tariffs.
“I do feel like there is a high number of people who do not quite understand tariffs or don’t know what they think the most other issues,” Mark Cunningham of The Beacon Center told The Center Square in an interview.
Trump has proposed a 10% to 20% tariff increase on imports and up to 60% on imports from China.
Several economists said the plan could backfire. A recent analysis by the Tax Foundation said reallocating investment and jobs using tariffs is a “costly mistake.
“Trump’s proposed tariffs would raise taxes on U.S. imports, burdening consumers and unprotected industries with higher taxes and lower incomes and redistributing some of those losses to protected firms,” the analysis said.
Trump said recently that tariffs can be used as a money-making instrument or as a way to get companies to the U.S.
“If you want the companies to come in, the tariff has to be a lot higher than 10% because 10% is not enough,” Trump said. “They’re not going to do it for 10%, but if you make a 50% tariff, they’re going to come in.”
Republican support for tariffs is a shift, Cunningham said.
“In the late ’90s, early 2000s, you had Republicans talking about ‘free trade’ and Democrats were talking about ‘fair trade,’ which is generally another word for tariffs,” Cunningham said.
