Watch an MSNBC analyst explain how Trump's tariffs will soon hit American shoppers
Christine Romans: “The president alone is making these decisions and is moving forward aggressively with tariffs. A new era of American protectionism.”
Published
Citation
From the March 5, 2025, edition of MSNBC's José Díaz-Balart Reports
JOSÉ DÍAZ-BALART (ANCHOR): With us now, NBC News senior business correspondent Christine Romans. Christine, always a pleasure to see you. So, let's talk about that, because there seems to be a kind of a disconnect between the secretary and the president. The tariffs, the dogmatic nature of them, or the non-dogmatic nature of them.
CHRISTINE ROMANS (SENIOR BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT): And that's why you have the market kind of wobbling here, trying to figure out, OK, who are we listening to? Are we listening to Donald Trump last night, who said there will be more tariffs, and there will be more tariffs in April, and this is the way it's going to be? Or are we listening to Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary, who says, wait, we might be able to find something in the middle? And what does that something in the middle look like? Is it a carveout for the auto industry, the auto companies that are complying with the president's trade agreement, the USMCA? Maybe there's some sort of relief there. Is there another delay? Though, Lutnick said there will be no pause. There's not going to be a pause. So, we just don't know what that's going to look like. There's also, for example, the Canadian foreign minister on the BBC last night said they're talking to cabinet officials in the U.S. all the time, and it doesn't seem as though they're talking on behalf of the United States president. The president alone is making these decisions and is moving forward aggressively with tariffs. A new era of American protectionism.
...
ROMANS: And remember, President Trump wrote the rules for the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for how we make a car in the United States and what percentage of it can be domestic manufactured and assembled, and what pieces can come from someplace else. There are consoles and parts of cars that are assembled in the U.S. that go back and forth across these borders multiple times. Imagine a 25% tariff on all of those. That could raise the price of a car 4,000, 5,000, up to $12,000, according to one analysis that I saw, if you pass along those 25% tariffs. And again, these are rules, these are big auto companies and auto parts companies that after USMCA — the president's own trade deal — they moved factories. They spent billions of dollars to make sure they were complying with how President Trump wanted North American trade. And now he's starting all over again. So, that is why there's so much frustration in the auto industry and a big worry it could raise prices.
We also heard from Progressive, the auto insurance company, saying, look, if companies — if cars are going to be more expensive, auto insurance is going to be more expensive. And the president, you know, ran saying, I'm going to lower gas prices, grocery prices, insurance prices, all these things that are a problem for the American consumer. But his own trade policies, according to insurance companies, is going to raise insurance.
DÍAZ-BALART: Christine, can you explain a little to me? Because I still have these, like, I'm not really understanding this.
ROMANS: OK.
DÍAZ-BALART: When the United States president says tariff on Mexico 25%, what does that exactly mean? Who pays for that tariff?
ROMANS: Let's talk about avocados.
DÍAZ-BALART: OK.
ROMANS: You got a truck full of avocados, and they're right there at the port. And they're —
DÍAZ-BALART: From Mexico.
ROMANS: Right, 90% of the avocados in the U.S. —
DÍAZ-BALART: The Hass avocados are fantastic.
ROMANS: Yes, they absolutely are. They're coming across the border. You're picking them up. You are a big distributor for grocery stores.
DÍAZ-BALART: Here in the states?
ROMANS: Here in the states. You're at the border. Customs hands you a bill for an extra 25% to pay the tariff. That 25% is paid for by the grocery stores in the U.S., the importer for the grocery stores in the U.S. –– 25%, that's what they pay. And then that goes down, literally, the food chain. That money for the tariff goes to the U.S. Treasury, but it's not paid by the Mexican government. It's paid by importer in the U.S. and passed along to consumers.
We just talked to a grocery store. They're selling avocados two for $5. When those run out in the next few days, they're going to add $0.49 to each avocado. And that's even them eating some of the cost. So, that's —
DÍAZ-BALART: Because they have to pay that 25%.
ROMANS: Because they will pay the 25%, yes. So, that will be in a matter of days. When these avocados are done, already they're paying more for what's coming across the border.