Most Americans expect higher prices as a result of Trump's tariffs, a
new AP-NORC poll finds
[April 24, 2025]
By JOSH BOAK and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ trust in President Donald Trump to bolster
the U.S. economy appears to be faltering, with a new poll showing that
many people fear the country is being steered into a recession and that
the president’s broad and haphazardly enforced tariffs will cause prices
to rise.
Roughly half of U.S. adults say that Trump’s trade policies will
increase prices “a lot” and another 3 in 10 think prices could go up
“somewhat,” according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center
for Public Affairs Research.
About half of Americans are “extremely” or “very” concerned about the
possibility of the U.S. economy going into a recession in the next few
months.
While skepticism about tariffs is increasing modestly, that doesn’t mean
the public is automatically rejecting Trump or his approach to trade.
However, the wariness could cause problems for a president who promised
voters he could quickly fix inflation.
Trump shows vulnerability on the economy
Three months into his second term, Trump’s handling of the economy and
tariffs is showing up as a potential weakness. About 4 in 10 Americans
approve of the way the Republican president is handling the economy and
trade negotiations. That’s roughly in line with an AP-NORC poll
conducted in March.
Matthew Wood, 41, said he’s waiting to see how the tariffs play out, but
he’s feeling anxious.
“I’m not a huge fan of it, especially considering China and going back
and forth with adjustments on both ends,” said Wood, who lives in West
Liberty, Kentucky, and is unemployed. “Personally, it hasn’t affected me
as of yet. But, generally, I don’t know how this is going to come to an
end, especially with the big countries involved.”
Still, Wood said he changed his registration from Republican to
independent, having been turned off by Trump’s attitude and deference to
billionaire adviser Elon Musk. Wood voted for Trump last year and said
he’s willing to give the president until the end of the year to deliver
positive results on tariffs.
About half of U.S. adults, 52%, are against imposing tariffs on all
goods brought into the U.S. from other countries. That’s up slightly
from January, when a poll found that 46% were against tariffs. Driving
that small shift largely appears to be adults under age 30 who didn’t
previously have an opinion on tariffs.
Trump supporter Janice Manis, 63, said her only criticism of Trump on
tariffs is that he put in a partial 90-day pause for trade negotiations
with other countries.
“Actually, I think he shouldn’t have suspended it,” said Manis, a
retired sheriff’s deputy from Del Rio, Texas. “Because now China is
trying to manipulate all of these other countries to go against us,
whereas if he would have left all the tariffs in play then these
countries would be hit hard. But, oh, well, things happen.”
Skepticism remains about Trump’s tariff approach
Not quite 100 days into Trump’s second term in the White House, people
around the country are bracing for possible disruptions in how they
spend, work and live. The U.S. economy remains solid for the moment with
moderating inflation and a healthy 4.2% unemployment rate, yet measures
such as consumer confidence have dropped sharply.
Trump has used executive actions to remold the global economy. He’s
imposed hundreds of billions of dollars a year in new import taxes —
albeit partially suspending some of them — launching a full-scale trade
war against China and pledging to wrap up deals with dozen of other
countries that are temporarily facing tariffs of 10%. Financial markets
are swinging with every twist and turn from Trump’s tariff
pronouncements.
[to top of second column]
|
Javid Moghaddasnia, Director of Customer Engagement, discusses
American Giant clothing while being interviewed at the company's
showroom in San Francisco, Thursday, April 17, 2025. (AP Photo/Jeff
Chiu)
Many Americans are not convinced this is the right approach. About 6
in 10 say Trump has “gone too far” when it comes to imposing new
tariffs, according to the poll.
Stocks are down this year, while interest charges on U.S. government
bonds have climbed in ways that could make it more costly to repay
mortgages, auto loans and student debt. CEOs are scrapping their
earnings guidance for investors and seeking exemptions from Trump’s
tariffs, which hit allies such as Canada and even penguin-inhabited
islands.
Trump seemed to recognize the drag from tariffs as he highlighted
this week the possibility of a deal with China. Treasury Secretary
Scott Bessent had also said in a closed-door speech that the
situation with China is not “sustainable.”
Widespread concern about rising grocery prices
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults are “extremely” or “very” concerned about
the cost of groceries in the next few months, while about half are
highly concerned about the cost of big purchases, such as a car,
cellphone or appliance. Less than half are highly concerned about
their ability to purchase the goods they want — a sign of the
economy’s resilience so far.
Retirement savings are a source of anxiety — about 4 in 10 Americans
say their retirement savings are a “major source” of stress in their
lives. But fewer — only about 2 in 10 — identify the stock market as
a major source of anxiety.
“This whole tariff war is just a losing situation not only for the
American people but everybody worldwide,” said Nicole Jones, 32.
“It’s revenge — and everybody’s losing on it.”
The Englewood, Florida, resident voted last year for then-Vice
President Kamala Harris, who replaced the incumbent president, Joe
Biden, as the Democratic nominee. Jones hadn’t given much thought to
tariffs until recently, and now, as an occupational therapy student,
she also worries about losing her financial aid and facing high
amounts of educational debt.
“Things are more expensive for us,” she said.
And most Americans still think the national economy is in a weak
state.
The difference is that Republicans — who largely thought the economy
was in bad shape when Biden was president — now feel more
optimistic. But Democrats have become much more bleak about the
country’s financial future.
“It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but we were doing fine,”
Jones, a Democratic voter, said about the economy before Trump’s
policies went into effect.
___
The AP-NORC poll of 1,260 adults was conducted April 17-21, using a
sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which
is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin
of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9 percentage
points.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
