Politics

/

ArcaMax

Are Trump's tariffs driving up prices in California? What new numbers reveal

David Lightman, The Sacramento Bee on

Published in Political News

The tariffs President Donald Trump has imposed and threatened have not sent most prices up wildly — at least not yet — according to a new report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“The effects of U.S. tariffs continue to filter through the economy, but not as fast as expected earlier,” said Sung Won Sohn, president of SS Economics in Los Angeles, on Tuesday.

That doesn’t mean tariff-stoked price spirals aren’t coming. But it’s been four months since Trump declared “Liberation Day” and vowed to tax most foreign goods, a time when markets plunged largely on the prospect of higher prices.

“Trump to date has been correct in his early assessment that his tariff policy would not lead to chaos and carnage as pundits predicted, including many economists,” said Mark Schniepp, director of the Santa Barbara-based California Economic Forecast.

“It’s still wait-and-see because of lagged effects,” Schniepp said. “But so far, there is no clear evidence that higher priced tariffed goods coming into the U.S. have had any impact on the general level of the Consumer Price Index.”

The cost of living has risen at a 2.7% annual pace through the end of July, the government said Tuesday. While that’s a distance from the Federal Reserve’s 2% target, it’s still historically low.

Among the reasons for the slower-than-anticipated increases were adjustments by businesses and consumers. Both camps remain wary that the tariffs will push prices further up in the immediate future.

“We still face tariffed goods coming into the U.S. and especially as the holiday season ramps up,” Schniepp said. Consumers may substitute successfully enough to avoid tariff inflated priced goods but this circumstance remains a wait and see.”

At the corporate level, “businesses know consumers have been pushed to the edge already. They know consumers aren’t in the mood to digest the full cost of tariffs,” said Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, which analyzes gasoline prices.

Trump has imposed a patchwork of tariffs, in addition to delays and threats yet to materialize.

Some prices shot up

 

There have been some bigger price increases. Most of last month’s increase was because of higher housing-related prices.

That could become an ongoing inflationary problem. The UCLA Anderson Forecast found in its summer outlook that housing in California is “under pressure, with deportations reducing the construction workforce, rising input costs owing to tariffs and high interest rates constraining new home development.”

But cautious consumers are helping hold down prices of many goods and services.

Some of the areas most closely watched for tariff impact nationwide were largely unaffected. New car prices were unchanged. Apparel prices were up 0.1%, though household furnishings costs jumped 0.7%.

Gasoline prices fell 2.2% last month, and De Haan saw a scenario where prices for a gallon of regular in California could go below $4 a gallon by the end of the year.

Gasoline prices — like most other items — are impacted by a hard-to-predict variety of factors. De Haan listed a few that could impact oil prices: Could a breakthrough in U.S.-Russia talks this week matter to prices? Will OPEC cut or increase production? Will California refineries produce at a robust capacity?

The American Automobile Association said Tuesday that the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the state is $4.50, the highest in the U.S. To fall below $4, “a lot would have to go right,” said De Haan.

His analysis illustrated the highly uncertain nature of where tariff policy is leading.

“The full effect of tariffs has yet to be felt,” said Song.

_____


©2025 The Sacramento Bee. Visit sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

 

Comments

blog comments powered by Disqus

 

Related Channels

The ACLU

ACLU

By The ACLU
Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman

By Amy Goodman
Armstrong Williams

Armstrong Williams

By Armstrong Williams
Austin Bay

Austin Bay

By Austin Bay
Ben Shapiro

Ben Shapiro

By Ben Shapiro
Betsy McCaughey

Betsy McCaughey

By Betsy McCaughey
Bill Press

Bill Press

By Bill Press
Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

Bonnie Jean Feldkamp

By Bonnie Jean Feldkamp
Cal Thomas

Cal Thomas

By Cal Thomas
Christine Flowers

Christine Flowers

By Christine Flowers
Clarence Page

Clarence Page

By Clarence Page
Danny Tyree

Danny Tyree

By Danny Tyree
David Harsanyi

David Harsanyi

By David Harsanyi
Debra Saunders

Debra Saunders

By Debra Saunders
Dennis Prager

Dennis Prager

By Dennis Prager
Dick Polman

Dick Polman

By Dick Polman
Erick Erickson

Erick Erickson

By Erick Erickson
Froma Harrop

Froma Harrop

By Froma Harrop
Jacob Sullum

Jacob Sullum

By Jacob Sullum
Jamie Stiehm

Jamie Stiehm

By Jamie Stiehm
Jeff Robbins

Jeff Robbins

By Jeff Robbins
Jessica Johnson

Jessica Johnson

By Jessica Johnson
Jim Hightower

Jim Hightower

By Jim Hightower
Joe Conason

Joe Conason

By Joe Conason
Joe Guzzardi

Joe Guzzardi

By Joe Guzzardi
John Micek

John Micek

By John Micek
John Stossel

John Stossel

By John Stossel
Josh Hammer

Josh Hammer

By Josh Hammer
Judge Andrew P. Napolitano

Judge Andrew Napolitano

By Judge Andrew P. Napolitano
Laura Hollis

Laura Hollis

By Laura Hollis
Marc Munroe Dion

Marc Munroe Dion

By Marc Munroe Dion
Michael Barone

Michael Barone

By Michael Barone
Mona Charen

Mona Charen

By Mona Charen
Rachel Marsden

Rachel Marsden

By Rachel Marsden
Rich Lowry

Rich Lowry

By Rich Lowry
Robert B. Reich

Robert B. Reich

By Robert B. Reich
Ruben Navarrett Jr.

Ruben Navarrett Jr

By Ruben Navarrett Jr.
Ruth Marcus

Ruth Marcus

By Ruth Marcus
S.E. Cupp

S.E. Cupp

By S.E. Cupp
Salena Zito

Salena Zito

By Salena Zito
Star Parker

Star Parker

By Star Parker
Stephen Moore

Stephen Moore

By Stephen Moore
Susan Estrich

Susan Estrich

By Susan Estrich
Ted Rall

Ted Rall

By Ted Rall
Terence P. Jeffrey

Terence P. Jeffrey

By Terence P. Jeffrey
Tim Graham

Tim Graham

By Tim Graham
Tom Purcell

Tom Purcell

By Tom Purcell
Veronique de Rugy

Veronique de Rugy

By Veronique de Rugy
Victor Joecks

Victor Joecks

By Victor Joecks
Wayne Allyn Root

Wayne Allyn Root

By Wayne Allyn Root

Comics

Margolis and Cox Michael Ramirez Ed Wexler Joel Pett Tom Stiglich Gary Varvel