Trump Eyeing Tariff Rollbacks After Studies Reveal Americans Fronting Majority of Bill

President Trump is considering a rollback of some of his tariffs after an analysis found that consumers are paying 90 percent of their cost, according to a report.

The Financial Times reported that Trump is reconsidering his tariffs on steel and aluminum, which can be as high as 50 percent, because of concerns about their impact on American consumers.

The Financial Times report comes after an analysis by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 90 percent of the cost of Trump’s tariffs was being passed along to consumers.

“Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6 to 13 percent,” the NY FED stated. “Using import data through November 2025…We find that nearly 90 percent of the tariffs’ economic burden fell on U.S. firms and consumers.”

The report states that “While importers pay the duty, the ‘economic burden’ of the tariff can be shifted onto exporters if they lower their export prices.”

The report stated that the analysis suggested that prices for goods subject to the average tariff rose at 13 times the rate of goods not subject to the tariffs.

“In sum, U.S. firms and consumers continue to bear the bulk of the economic burden of the high tariffs imposed in 2025,” the report concluded.

Recent polls have shown ongoing concerns by Americans about inflation and Trump’s handling of cost-of-living issues. A Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 59 percent of Americans disapproved of Trump’s handling of affordability issues.

The Financial Times report had an immediate impact on several U.S.-listed steel and aluminum stocks, which fell as soon as markets opened Friday, Investor’s Business Daily reported.