Contrary to US government rhetoric, the cost of US import tariffs are not borne by foreign exporters. Instead, they hit the American economy itself. Importers and consumers in the US bear 96 percent of the tariff burden, according to new research from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

Although the US government intended the tariffs to target foreign businesses, the policy actually harms the domestic economy. “The tariffs are an own goal,” says Julian Hinz, Research Director at the Kiel Institute and one of the authors of the study. “The claim that foreign countries pay these tariffs is a myth. The data show the opposite: Americans are footing the bill.” The tariffs act like a consumption tax on imported goods. At the same time, both the variety and volume of available products decrease.