Stars, Stripes, and Sticker Shock: Trump’s Tariff-Laden Fourth of July

July 2, 2025

Stars, Stripes, and Sticker Shock: Trump’s Tariff-Laden Fourth of July

As families fire up the grill and head to the pool this Fourth of July weekend, President Trump’s tariffs and economic policies are lighting a fuse under the cost of nearly every summer staple. Backyard traditions have become budgeting headaches with grill prices up, beef costs hitting record highs, and swimsuits coming with steeper price tags.

With the threat of more price hikes looming as we near the end of the 90-day pause on Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the average effective tariff rate is still at 15.8% – the highest since before World War II. Experts estimate that American households have already lost roughly $2,000 in annual purchasing power due to Trump’s ill-conceived trade wars.

At the same time, President Trump and Congressional Republicans are rushing to pass a wildly unpopular budget bill that will give tax breaks to billionaires and raise costs for everyone else.

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

“This Independence Day, Americans are feeling the heat — and it’s not just around the grill, but at the grocery store and gas pump thanks to Trump’s tariffs burning a hole in their budgets.

“Americans deserve economic freedom, not higher prices and fewer choices in the name of false ‘liberation.’ Trump’s trade war is turning the U.S. into the Land of the Fee, and it’s working families that are forced to pay.”

BACKGROUND ON TRUMP’S TARIFF-LADEN FOURTH OF JULY