Most Americans expect higher prices as a result of Trump’s tariffs, new poll finds

By JOSH BOAK and AMELIA THOMSON-DEVEAUX Associated Press WASHINGTON AP Americans trust in President Donald Trump to bolster the U S financial market appears to be faltering with a new poll showing that multiple people fear the country is being steered into a recession and that the president s broad and haphazardly enforced tariffs will cause prices to rise Roughly half of U S adults say that Trump s deal policies will increase prices a lot and another in think prices could go up somewhat according to the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Citizens Affairs Research About half of Americans are extremely or very concerned about the possibility of the U S financial system going into a recession in the next limited months While skepticism about tariffs is increasing modestly that doesn t mean the constituents is automatically rejecting Trump or his approach to pact However the wariness could cause problems for a president who promised voters he could expeditiously fix inflation Trump shows vulnerability on the commercial sector Three months into his second term Trump s handling of the financial sector and tariffs is showing up as a foreseen weakness About in Americans approve of the way the Republican president is handling the economic activity and agreement negotiations That s roughly in line with an AP-NORC poll conducted in March Related Articles China says there are no negotiations with the US over tariffs A dozen states sue the Trump administration to stop tariff approach Trump is putting his touches on the White House with flagpoles art and an Oval Office overhaul Who is Paula Xinis the federal judge overseeing the Abrego Garcia affair Veterans Affairs asks employees to record anti-Christian bias for scrutiny by new task force Matthew Wood noted he s waiting to see how the tariffs play out but he s feeling anxious I m not a huge fan of it especially considering China and going back and forth with adjustments on both ends announced Wood who lives in West Liberty Kentucky and is unemployed Personally it hasn t affected me as of yet But generally I don t know how this is going to come to an end especially with the big countries involved Still Wood commented he changed his registration from Republican to independent having been turned off by Trump s attitude and deference to billionaire adviser Elon Musk Wood voted for Trump last year and revealed he s willing to give the president until the end of the year to deliver positive results on tariffs About half of U S adults are against imposing tariffs on all goods brought into the U S from other countries That s up slightly from January when a poll identified that were against tariffs Driving that small shift largely appears to be adults under age who didn t previously have an opinion on tariffs Trump supporter Janice Manis commented her only criticism of Trump on tariffs is that he put in a partial -day pause for contract negotiations with other countries Indeed I think he shouldn t have suspended it announced Manis a retired sheriff s deputy from Del Rio Texas Because now China is trying to manipulate all of these other countries to go against us whereas if he would have left all the tariffs in play then these countries would be hit hard But oh well things happen Skepticism remains about Trump s tariff approach Not quite days into Trump s second term in the White House people around the country are bracing for accomplishable disruptions in how they spend work and live The U S economic system remains solid for the moment with moderating inflation and a healthy unemployment rate yet measures such as consumer confidence have dropped sharply Trump has used executive actions to remold the global financial sector He s imposed hundreds of billions of dollars a year in new import taxes albeit partially suspending several of them launching a full-scale pact war against China and pledging to wrap up deals with dozen of other countries that are temporarily facing tariffs of Financial markets are swinging with every twist and turn from Trump s tariff pronouncements Various Americans are not convinced this is the right approach About in say Trump has gone too far when it comes to imposing new tariffs according to the poll Milka chocolate bars from Germany are displayed for sale at Market Candy in New York s Lower East Side Friday April AP Photo Richard Drew Stocks are down this year while interest charges on U S authorities bonds have climbed in options that could make it more costly to repay mortgages auto loans and participant debt CEOs are scrapping their earnings guidance for investors and seeking exemptions from Trump s tariffs which hit allies such as Canada and even penguin-inhabited islands Trump seemed to recognize the drag from tariffs as he highlighted this week the possibility of a deal with China Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had also explained in a closed-door speech that the situation with China is not sustainable Widespread concern about rising grocery prices About in U S adults are extremely or very concerned about the cost of groceries in the next meager months while about half are highly concerned about the cost of big purchases such as a car cellphone or appliance Less than half are highly concerned about their ability to purchase the goods they want a sign of the commercial sector s resilience so far Retirement savings are a source of anxiety about in Americans say their retirement savings are a major source of stress in their lives But fewer only about in identify the stock sector as a major source of anxiety This whole tariff war is just a losing situation not only for the American people but everybody worldwide explained Nicole Jones It s revenge and everybody s losing on it The Englewood Florida resident voted last year for then-Vice President Kamala Harris who replaced the incumbent president Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee Jones hadn t given much thought to tariffs until lately and now as an occupational therapy learner she also worries about losing her financial aid and facing high amounts of educational debt Things are more expensive for us she explained And bulk Americans still think the national financial system is in a weak state The difference is that Republicans who largely thought the financial sector was in bad shape when Biden was president now feel more optimistic But Democrats have become much more bleak about the country s financial future It wasn t all sunshine and rainbows but we were doing fine Jones a Democratic voter reported about the market system before Trump s policies went into effect The AP-NORC poll of adults was conducted April - using a sample drawn from NORC s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel which is designed to be representative of the U S population The margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus percentage points