The truth about the trade war revealed: 96% of Trump's tariffs hit the American people themselves.

A recent research report released by a German think tank shows that the tariffs imposed by US President Trump on imported goods are being borne almost entirely by US importers, domestic customers, and ultimately US consumers. The report, released by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy on Monday, states: "In response to the US tariffs, foreign exporters have not substantially lowered their prices. The additional $200 billion in tariff revenue collected by the US government is actually being directly taken from the pockets of US businesses and households." The research found that only about 4% of the tariff costs are borne by foreign companies, with the remaining 96% of the costs being "almost entirely" passed on to US buyers. After paying the tariffs, these importers either absorb the costs themselves or raise prices. Manufacturers and retailers then face the choice of either passing on the increased costs to downstream consumers or accepting the pressure of narrowing profit margins. The researchers at the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Julian Hinz, Aaron Lohmann, Hendrik Mahlkow, and Anna Vorwig, wrote in the report: "Such tariffs are not a tax on foreign producers, but rather a consumption tax levied on the American people." The study focused on Brazil and India, two countries whose exported goods became the targets of large-scale high tariffs by the US last year. After the US imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, Brazilian exporters "did not substantially lower prices denominated in dollars." The same situation occurred in India - the country's goods were initially subject to a 25% tariff, which was later raised to 50%, but Indian exporters did not lower prices in response. Exporters are reluctant to bear the burden of high tariff costs for various reasons, including their ability to redirect sales to other markets. The report from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy states: "Market adjustment is not achieved through exporters lowering prices, but rather through a reduction in trade volume. For most exporters, between 'reducing sales volume to maintain profits' and 'lowering prices to maintain sales volume,' they clearly prefer the former." This study is based on freight data covering 25 million transactions worth approximately $4 trillion, and its conclusions contradict the Trump administration's previous claims that "tariff costs are borne by trading partners." The researchers emphasize in the report: "This claim was once the core foundation of tariff policy - the government claimed that tariffs could serve as a tool to pressure trading partners to concede, generate revenue for the US government, and not impose any cost on American households. However, our research results are exactly the opposite: US importers and consumers are the ones who bear almost all of the costs of tariffs."