Offbeat Tariffs are about to hit consumers, and it won't be pretty

Tariffs the White House has levied thus far have fallen primarily on industrial supplies and components of other goods. That's about to change, and consumers will feel the bite if the tariffs are implemented as planned.

Economists at Societe Generale estimate that the $200 billion under consideration against Chinese goods will raise consumer prices significantly.

Items such as furniture, air conditioning units and vacuum cleaners all will get costlier as part of a list of duties the administration said it will impose if no progress is made in trade talks. Of that group, about $45 billion comes directly from finished products common in many homes that will face 10 percent tariffs, according to SocGen.

Trump's tariffs take a toll on farmers in Pennsylvania

As the U.S. exchanges blows with global trading partners in a widening series of conflicts, candidates across the country have had to adapt to a changing trade landscape. Candidates tread carefully around tariffsPennsylvania is among a handful of states critical in deciding which major party holds the House after November's elections. The combination of a midterm environment that favors Democrats and the revision of a Republican-drawn congressional map has given Democrats hope that they can flip a chunk of the districts in the Keystone State. The party needs to win 23 GOP-held districts nationwide to take a House majority.

Raymond James Washington policy analyst Ed Mills discusses how President Trump’s China tariffs are causing prices to go up for American consumers .

US consumers are footing the bill for Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods from Washington’s economic rivals, Ron Paul has told RT, describing the White House So, it ’s a tax on our own people and it doesn’ t make any sense. Paul also criticized Washington for its liberal use of “very punitive” sanctions.

Doing the math, SocGen economist Omair Sharif estimates that the tariffs will add 0.45 percentage points to the core consumer price index, or the reading of the closely watched inflation measure that excludes volatile food and energy prices. The impact would be about 2 basis points more for the headline reading.

Sharif called it a "substantial move" considering the most recent core CPI gain was 2.3 percent. Assuming the analysis is correct, that translates to a nearly 20 percent rise in prices for the wide-ranging basket of goods the index measures.

"As we saw with tariffs on laundry equipment this year, tariffs on household appliances could ripple through into retail prices relatively quickly," Sharif wrote. "In short, it would result in a supply shock."

EU prepares to hit back if US puts tariffs on car imports

The European Union says it is already preparing measures to retaliate against the U.S. if President Donald Trump imposes tariffs on imported cars and auto parts. The auto industry is a big employer and exporter in Europe, and the new tariffs could hit the region hard, as well as consumers and manufacturers in the U.S., where prices would rise.

Tariffs are typically paid by American consumers if the exporter does not pay the cost of the tax itself. Some businesses which have been hit by previous tariffs were quick to object to this latest action. The Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, which said its members have already lost hundreds of

Those tariffs , paired with others already in place, are hitting American consumers where it hurts most. The tariffs are sowing uncertainty at home. The Dallas Observer reports U.S. restaurateurs and grocers that sell E.U. goods are unsure who will eat the 25 percent tariffs —them, importers

Because of the nature of economic data, where levels are compared on a year-over-year basis, the upward pop in the CPI would last 12 months after the tariffs hit.

Sharif predicted the tariffs likely would take effect in mid-October, based on the three-month lag it took the current $34 billion of tariffs to take effect from the time they were introduced.

As for individual items, furniture looks to be the area most impacted.

The U.S. imports $18.6 billion worth of furniture listed on the proposed tariffs, with China accounting for $11.5 billion. Of the appliance items listed, the U.S. imports about $5.6 billion each year, with $3.8 billion coming from China.

Looking at the top 10 items on the tariff list in dollar value, China has a market share of more than 50 percent for nine of them, and a share exceeding 70 percent for four.

"For those goods, it may be harder to find a new market to import from, or at the very least it may take longer, putting those items at a greater disadvantage," Sharif said. "These are the items that may also see a quicker pass-through from tariffs into retail prices."

While consumers will be hit with higher prices, Sharif said he doubts the inflation injection will cause the Fed to hike interest rates faster than planned.

The central bank also has indicated it will raise its benchmark funds rate twice more this year and up to three time in 2019. Moreover, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell has indicated that he'd be inclined to dismiss temporary or "supply shocks" and not react to short-term inflation from the tariffs.