Duty regime: America’s consumers will foot the tariff bill
The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
4.6 • 3.6K Ratings
🗓️ 7 August 2025
⏱️ 23 minutes
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Summary
As yet another tranche of Donald Trump’s tariffs takes effect, we look at why the duties might outlast him—and how American consumers will ultimately shoulder the trade war’s costs. Our correspondent visits US Space Command, which is preparing for a new age of combat in the heavens. And Gen Z’s obsession with big, personalised water bottles.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey, it's Adam Grant from Worklife, a podcast from TED. |
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| 0:53.6 | I'm your host, Jason Palmer. Every weekday, we provide a fresh perspective on the events shaping your world. |
| 1:05.8 | We pay a visit to U.S. Space Command, which is a cavernous lair inside a volcano. Just kidding, it's an office |
| 1:13.7 | building, but the kind of dramatic combat it's preparing for is straight out of the movies. |
| 1:20.5 | And you'll have noticed that young people are never without a ready supply of water, often in an |
| 1:26.1 | enormous bottle, which is often glammed up and personalized. |
| 1:30.3 | We look at what's behind this thirst for a liquid asset. |
| 1:38.3 | First up, though. |
| 1:55.6 | Dozens and dozens of countries just got it in the neck. |
| 2:00.5 | Overnight, yet another trench of tariffs from the Trump administration came into effect. |
| 2:06.5 | On the social media site Mr. Trump owns, he posted, and you'll have to imagine the all caps here, |
| 2:11.9 | it's midnight, billions of dollars in tariffs are now flowing into the United States of America. |
| 2:18.2 | Which is true as far as it goes, but the bigger picture is far more complex and troubling. |
... |
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