U.S. Consumers Fret Over Tariffs; Canadians to Vote With Their Wallets
President Donald Trump’s trade war has begun—and some consumers are taking sides with their wallets.
On Tuesday at 12:01 a.m., Trump officially imposed duties of 25 percent on both Mexico and Canada, despite attempts from the countries’ respective leaders fighting to curtail such an action. The tariffs, which for the moment exclude de minimis shipments inbound from both countries, come as no surprise—Trump has been threatening such action for weeks.
While that has given world leaders time to squabble and negotiate over the economic ramifications of such penalties, it has also given consumers time to reflect on how such actions might impact their own lives and spending patterns.
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Seeing those kinds of numbers in headlines may have started to frighten U.S. consumers, data shows. Recent University of Michigan data shows that consumer sentiment plummeted by just under 10 percent between January and February. It’s also down 16 percent year on year.
Joanne Hsu, surveys of consumers director for the university, said consumers aligned with independent and Democratic parties have more doom and gloom than their Republican counterparts, accounting for the shift down.
“While sentiment fell for both Democrats and Independents, it was unchanged for Republicans, reflecting continued disagreements on the consequences of new economic policies,” she said in a statement.
Data from Numerator shows that eight in 10 U.S. consumers said they have concerns over how tariffs will affect their finances and shopping, with 64 percent noting they’re on edge over how tariffs could increase prices on certain products—particularly day-to-day essentials.
That reality may start to show itself as soon as this week. Retail executives have started to sound the bell on how the penalties on Canada and Mexico could impact U.S. consumers; Target’s CEO Brian Cornell told investors that Americans are likely to see price increases on produce grown in Mexico, and noted that the company has decreased its reliance on China for sourcing finished goods. Trump also announced Tuesday he would jack existing tariffs on China up by 10 percentage points to 20 percent.
About one-third of U.S. consumers support Trump’s latest tariff announcements, while 38 percent oppose them. Just over one-fifth of Americans believe tariffs will have harmful impacts on the economy, and 16 percent believe they could stand to help the economy, Numerator’s data shows.
While Americans’ awareness of Trump’s tariffs has skyrocketed by 30 percentage points since December—with more than 80 percent of consumers saying they have a general awareness of the tariffs—many still lack a concrete understanding of the ways tariffs on three of the U.S.’s major importers could impact their wallets.
Numerator’s data shows that while almost half of U.S. consumers have a general understanding of tariffs, they don’t have a grasp on the specificities of their potential impacts. An additional 17 percent said they have “little-to-no understanding of the issue.”
Some of the motivation for tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada comes from the idea that Americans should have the option to purchase goods made in the United States. In some sectors—apparel and fashion included—the U.S.’s manufacturing infrastructure, and the prices associated with labor, may not be able to produce high volumes of goods at prices American consumers are used to paying for items.
And, as a result of Trump’s aggressive tariff tactics, both Canada and China have already struck back with retaliatory tariffs. Mexico is expected to do the same. These moves could put a price premium on any American-made goods imported to those three countries, increasing prices on shelves and dissuading consumer purchase behavior.
As politicians’ fights over tariffs continue, some consumers have already taken a position on U.S. companies and Made in America goods. It appears the U.S.’s neighbors to the North took Trump’s tariff threats to heart. Data from Canada’s Angus Reid Institute showed Canadian consumers have already made plans to boycott American goods and decrease their spending with American companies.
Part of the push to spend money on Canadian companies has come from the company’s politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. On February 2, in the wake of Trump’s initial tariff threats against Canada, Trudeau posted on X, encouraging consumers to spend money on Canadian-made items.
“Now is the time to choose products made right here in Canada,” he wrote. “Check the labels. Let’s do our part. Wherever we can, choose Canada.”
Nearly half of Canadian consumers indicated that they plan to replace as many U.S. products as they can with Canadian ones. An additional 37 percent of consumers said they plan to do the same, depending on what’s feasible when considering price and quality.
As they consider how they will do so, 78 percent of Canadian consumers said they would purchase more Canadian products, while about six in 10 respondents said they would boycott products made in the U.S.
And so far, it sounds like many Canadians are keeping their word. Per Bank, CEO and president of Canadian grocery chain Loblaw, said two weeks ago in a LinkedIn post that, prior to the company’s plan to highlight products prepared in Canada, it saw a 7.5 percent increase in sales on Canadian products. It has now started to see double-digit percentage increases in sales on Canadian-made products.
“Even before we shared our plan to showcase products prepared in Canada, customers were already in a patriotic state of mind,” he wrote. “As we find new ways to highlight products prepared here in Canada, we know that our customers will continue to show their support for Canadian companies and brands. These early results are very encouraging, and best of all, the biggest beneficiaries of this shift towards buying Canadian are local businesses themselves.”
Bank’s sentiment around small businesses may be taking hold in the Canadian consumer mind; Angus Reid’s data shows four in 10 Canadian consumers plan to stop using or decrease their reliance on Amazon and buy direct from brands and retailers, whether in local stores or digitally. While Trump’s tariffs on Canada may be the primary reason for such behavior, Amazon also announced this year that it would shutter seven facilities in Quebec, Canada.
The sentiment among older Canadians is more intense than their younger counterparts. Eighty-eight percent of women over 55 in Canada said they would purchase more Canadian products, and 72 percent of respondents in the same group said they would boycott U.S.-made products. Those figures outpace Canadian women between 18 and 34, 81 percent of whom said they would purchase more Canadian products and 55 percent of whom said they would boycott U.S. products.
Canadian men over 55 were slightly less bullish on the boycott, with 65 percent noting they would participate in the boycott and 84 percent saying they’re dedicated to purchasing more Canadian products. Just over half of Canadian men between 18 and 34 said they would boycott U.S. products, and seven in 10 of the same cohort said they would purchase more Canadian products.
Among Canadians who indicated they would alter their spending in light of the tariffs coming from Trump, 54 percent said they plan to buy more Canadian apparel, and 36 percent said they will purchase Canadian shoes more regularly.
Just 15 percent of Canadian consumers indicated they do not plan to replace the products they purchase from U.S. companies.
