‘Why. The. F—. Are. We. Allowing. This. To. Happen???’: Trump’s tariff plan is causing the internet to panic

True to his word, Donald Trump plans to enact the tariffs that he’s been talking about during his 2024 presidential campaign. Social media users panicked over the possibility of essential goods skyrocketing in price.

At Truth Social, Trump announced that he’ll be signing an executive order on January 20, 2025. The executive order will place a 25% tariff on all imports coming from Canada and Mexico. Essentially, these tariffs will stay indefinitely until Trump is satisfied with Canada and Mexico’s response. Aside from these two countries, China will also get an additional 10% tariff on top of other existing tariffs.

Social media users were horrified at Trump’s declaration. One wrote on Twitter, “He’s literally going to crash the economy on Day 1 with blanket tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. Again, I ask the question: Why. The. Fuck. Are. We. Allowing. This. To. Happen???” The general advice people were giving on Twitter is to stock up on essential goods before January 20. One reply to this advice pessimistically stated, “Stock up with what money? The working poor, screwed again, and no lube.”

From bad to worse

Addressing inflation is a primary concern during the 2024 presidential election. More voters perceived Trump as capable of handling economic matters. Despite that idealized perception of Trump, various economists warned that Trump’s tariff plans during his campaign could worsen inflation.

With Trump firmly defining which countries he intends to place a tariff on, consumers should be worried about the price of gas in the coming year. Canada’s main export to the United States is crude petroleum, and they’ve steadily exported more from 2017 to 2022.

Computers, cars, motor vehicles, parts, and accessories are the biggest exports of Mexico to the US. The auto industry is reliant on these imports from Mexico. Nevertheless, the increase in prices on automobiles wouldn’t be caused by tariffs on Mexico alone. Tariffs on China’s semiconductors and electric vehicles from Trump’s first term remained through the Biden administration. Those who intend to buy cars or even regular maintenance could expect a record surge in price.

Musk once told Americans to brace for hardship. What he didn’t say was that this difficult period may not be as short as Trump’s campaign made it seem. Other countries are expected to retaliate with their own tariffs against US exports. In turn, American exports will take a hit and lose market share in the form of retaliatory tariffs. It’s a lose-lose situation for American consumers and producers—and it’s uncertain for how long.