Lutnick says 10% tariffs here to stay, but insists consumers won't pay for it

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Axios

3 hours ago


Baseline global tariffs of 10% are likely to stay, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Sunday — but he insisted countries and businesses, and not consumers, would pay.

Why it matters: Economists generally disagree, and sentiment surveys say consumers don't believe it, either.

What they're saying: "We do expect a 10% baseline tariff to be in place for the foreseeable future — but don't buy the silly arguments that the U.S. consumer pays," Lutnick said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday.

"Businesses, their job is to try to sell to the American consumer, and domestically produced products are not going to have that tariff, so the foreigners are going to finally have to compete."

Zoom out: President Trump set a global 10% baseline tariff on April 2, with some countries subject to higher "reciprocal tariffs." Those higher levies were later mostly suspended, but the baseline stayed in place.

The trade deal the U.S. agreed with Great Britain this past week included that 10% levy, despite lowering other barriers.

"We will not go below 10%, that is just not a place we're going to go," Lutnick said.

Read more: https://www.axios.com/2025/05/11/trump-trade-war-lutnick-tariffs

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What a dumbass. Consumers are ALREADY paying for it - at least for any product that is actually available at this point because the ship, plane, and truck traffic with product, has trickled to a near halt.

[JustAnotherGen]

1. He's a liar

And when Krasnov finally dies he's on his own. Hang his ass upside down from a god damn gas station sign. He's a ChristoFascist criminal. Following orders ain't going to cut it.

[republianmushroom]

2. Lutnick has his head up his ass if he thinks

consumers, won't be the one paying for that 10% tariff.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

14. Yes, but it's up another ass, not his own. . . nt

[Ocelot II]

3. Businesses *do* pay the tariffs, or else they can't import anything.

And how can the businesses afford to pay the tariffs if they can't raise their prices to consumers? BTW, businesses are also consumers; many have to buy imported materials from other businesses even if they don't import anything themselves. Nutlick has never been anything but a Wall Street parasite. Either he doesn't know WTF he's talking about or he does know and he's gaslighting us in order to lick Trump's nuts.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I was reading an article earlier about the conundrum of the small - medium businesses

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/small-business-owners-on-damage-from-trumps-tariffs/

This owner is about to hang it up and as a last hope, attempting to plan to "go global" and not sell here.

[Irish_Dem]

12. American owner hopes someday she can sell again in the US.

She can no longer afford to sell her goods in her own country.

[Vinca]

4. What on earth kind of moron is this guy? There's no tariff fairy swooping down from the sky to pay them.

It's a tax on consumers!

[patphil]

5. but don't buy the silly arguments that the U.S. consumer pays?

Mr. Lutknick is an amazingly stupid person, or does he think we're all that stupid?
Probably both.

A tariff is essentially a Federal Sales Tax.

[everyonematters]

7. That will be enough to send us into a recession imo.

[johnnyfins]

8. Nutlick isn't really that clever

He just flat out lies and thinks people will believe it.

[Tarzanrock]

9. This House of Cards will soon topple over!

The Turd is getting increasingly desperate as are the Turd's lying sycophants. The Turd's tariffs have now come home to roost. People are getting real pissed off about the economy. Everything is more expensive. Everyone sees the Bad Moon Rising. They can only keep propping the stock markets up for so long with bullshit about the tariffs before the markets react. Suppose these tariffs are only 10% -- I think that 10% tariffs (assuming that it is only 10%) is more than enough to crash this House of Cards. Just imagine that 10% regressive Turd tariff tax superimposed on top of the upwards inflationary/stagflation spiral of the price of some widget or good at about 5% plus the state/local "sales taxes" (9.5% in California) -- that's likely enough price increases to topple a whole lot of businesses in small towns and cities all across the country. This isn't going to be pretty!

[YorkRd]

10. Who writes the check?

[William Seger]

11. Making imported goods more expensive is the WHOLE POINT of tariffs

... to reduce demand, to make the more expensive domestic goods competitive.

[jmowreader]

13. Interesting...

One of the most bigly arguments the GOP has against raising corporate tax rates is “the consumer will pay it” - they’ll add the additional tax into the price you pay for goods.

Now we’re expected to believe they’ll throw a tax onto businesses, which a tariff is, and the taxed company will just eat the tax?