Ahead of Back to School Season, Consumers Brace for Higher Prices Due to Trump’s Tax and Trade Policies

July 18, 2025

Ahead of Back to School Season, Consumers Brace for Higher Prices Due to Trump’s Tax and Trade Policies

This week, Senate Republicans voted to codify DOGE’s reckless cuts to the federal budget and claw back funding from critical federal programs, just two weeks after Trump signed into law a tax bill that makes life more expensive for working families while giving billionaires another tax cut.

The effects of Trump’s trade war are coming into focus: this morning’s Preliminary University of Michigan Index of Consumer Sentiment shows that consumers are pulling back due to higher prices and have growing concerns about the state of the economy.

Groundwork Collaborative’s Executive Director Lindsay Owens released the following statement:

“Our economy is wracked with uncertainty as a result of President Trump’s erratic trade policy, but one thing is clear: prices are going up and consumers are pulling back. Inflation data shows that costs are rising on everything from coffee and oranges to appliances and furniture, and consumers are feeling the hit to their pocketbooks. With the Back to School shopping season here and the holidays around the corner, working families are in for a rough second half of the year thanks to Trump’s tax and tariff policies.”

Recently in the Trump Slump, new polling and economic indicators continue to show that President Trump’s actions are deeply unpopular and hurting the economy.

Polling: 

Economic Indicators: 

Expert Commentary: