9 Products That May Get More Expensive Due to Tariffs

Watch out for higher prices for avocados, automobiles, toys and more, economists warn

Daniel Bortz,

Updated July 08, 2025

AARP

Comments

En español

Published March 25, 2025

/ Updated July 08, 2025

a ship sinking with a dollar sign as the anchor pulling it down

Glenn Harvey

President Donald Trump has imposed a series of far-reaching tariffs on U.S. trade partners so far this year, including a 10 percent baseline tariff on imports from all countries except for Mexico and Canada, as well as a 50 percent tariff on steel and aluminum. On July 7, he demanded 14 countries agree to trade deals by Aug. 1 or face import taxes of at least 25 percent. The new levies, which would replace the reciprocal tariff policies that were previously scheduled to take effect July 9, include 25 percent tariffs on imports from Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Kazakhstan, 30 percent on South African products and 40 percent on goods from Myanmar and Laos.

Trump's trade policies, however, are fluid — with no shortage of on-again, off-again tariff announcements. And to muddy the water for American consumers even more, a federal trade court ruled on May 28 that the president had exceeded his authority in imposing levies on nearly all U.S. imports, only for a federal appeals court to freeze the ruling the following day while the administration challenges it.

Despite all the noise, one thing is clear: Tariffs against U.S. trade partners, and any retaliatory tariffs that occur, could have a significant effect on American consumers' pocketbooks.

“It's possible that retailers won't pass the higher import prices to consumers immediately, but I would expect them to eventually increase prices,” says Amit Khandelwal, a professor of global economics and global affairs at Yale University.

Duleep Rodrigo, consumer and retail sector leader at KPMG, agrees. “While retailers may adjust sourcing or pricing strategies to mitigate the impact, many will have limited ability to fully shield consumers,” he says. “The extent of any price changes will depend on factors like a company’s supply chain flexibility, competitive dynamics and consumer demand.”

At a Glance: Trump's Tariffs in 2025

President Donald Trump's tariffs are in a seemingly constant state of flux, with the White House frequently announcing changes to the nation's trade policies and a federal trade court blocking Trump's blanket tariffs on all imported goods.

Here is a condensed timeline of the major tariffs that have taken effect in 2025.

Feb. 4: 10 percent tariff against China on top of the pre-existing 10 percent tariffs levied during Trump's first term
March 4: 10 percent additional tariff Chinese imports
March 12: 25 percent tariff on steel and aluminum imports from all countries
April 3: 25 percent tariff on all imported vehicles
April 5: 10 percent universal tariff on all U.S. trade partners except for Canada and Mexico
April 9: 145 percent total tariff on Chinese imports
April 11: Trump announces a reciprocal tariff exemption for smartphones, laptops and other certain electronics, with refunds issued for reciprocal tariffs collected on these goods since April 5
April 29: Trump signs an executive order that U.S. automakers paying tariffs on foreign-made vehicles won’t also be charged for other import taxes
May 12: Trump reaches a deal with China to reduce America's tariffs on most Chinese imports from 145 percent to 30 percent for 90 days
June 4: Trump doubles U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs to 50 percent
July 8: Trump demands 14 countries agree to trade deals by Aug. 1 or face import taxes of at least 25 percent.

Watch out for potential price hikes on these nine items.

Auto insurance

Trump has proposed 25 percent tariffs on most goods imported from Canada and Mexico, but they've been put on hold in accordance with the the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), Trump said in March.

If the tariffs do take effect and increase prices for car parts, that could lead to higher auto insurance premiums, a recent study by Insurify found. According to the report’s projections, the taxes on auto parts imported from America’s neighbors would raise the average annual cost of car insurance by 8 percent in 2025, to $2,502.

You won't see prices increase right away, though. Before they can raise rates, "insurers have to get rate increases approved on a state level by insurance regulators and provide proof that the cost of auto claims has risen because of tariffs," says Matt Bannon, a data journalist at Insurify who worked on the study.

Automobiles

Planning to shop for a new set of wheels? Automobile prices could see a big bump, with the 25 proposed tariffs against Mexico and Canada adding as much as $12,000 to the price of a new car, according to research from East Lansing, Michigan-based consulting firm Anderson Economic Group. Market analysts say the additional 25 percent tariff on imported vehicles that took effect April 3 and a 25 percent tariff on imported auto parts that took effect May 3 could drive up prices further, although President Trump signed an executive order on April 29 allowing U.S. automakers to be partially reimbursed for the levies on foreign parts for the next two years based on a proportion of the cost of the imported components.

Moreover, an S&P Global Mobility report published in January found that a 25 percent tariff on a $25,000 vehicle from Mexico or Canada would add $6,250 to its import cost, with U.S. car dealers "likely to pass most, if not all, of this increase to consumers," the study said. The 50 percent tariffs on imports of steel and aluminum could also raise prices for car parts, making repairs more expensive.

Most Popular

There is a silver lining, says Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at market research firm J.D. Power: “As vehicle prices increase, consumers will also see the trade-in values increase for the vehicle they already own.”

Avocados

Sorry, guacamole fans: Avocado prices could soar. Roughly 90 percent of avocados sold in the U.S. come from Mexico, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reports. An estimated $2.7 billion worth of avocados were imported from Mexico in 2024 alone, according to Council on Foreign Relations data.

“The final price increase for consumers would likely be smaller than the [25 percent] tariff rate itself, since a portion of the total cost — things like transportation, distribution and retail markup — is added after the avocados arrive in the U.S.,” says David Ortega, a food economist and professor at Michigan State University. “That said, with limited alternative suppliers, retailers are likely to pass on much of the added cost.”

Gasoline

The Consumer Price Index shows gasoline prices fell 12 percent year-over-year in May. The tariffs against Canada could reverse that trend, though, since "most of the crude oil that the U.S. imports comes from Canada," says Aixa Diaz, a AAA spokesperson who writes the organization’s weekly fuel reports.

Still, "it's too soon to know what effect tariffs on Canadian oil imports would have on U.S. gas prices,” Diaz says. “We could see immediate reaction from markets and retailers, especially gas stations in northern border states." According to AAA, a gallon of regular gas averaged about $3.15 on June 24, down from around $3.50 a year ago.

Maple syrup

Most of America's maple syrup supply is domestic, with Vermont the leading producer — the state pumped out more than 3.1 million gallons in 2024, the USDA reports. But the U.S. still imports a significant amount of maple sugar and maple syrup from Canada, to the tune of $279 million worth in 2023, according to Observatory of Economic Complexity data.

“If tariffs are placed on Canadian imports, U.S. consumers could see price increases due to higher costs for imports and potential strain on domestic supply,” Ortega says.

New homes

Lumber prices have risen nearly 13 percent in the past year, according to a June 23 report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and with higher import costs from tariffs, particularly those on Canada and Mexico, prices could get worse. The U.S. gets about a quarter of its softwood lumber from Canada, says NAHB chief economist Robert Dietz.

That sets the stage for higher prices on new homes. U.S. home builders estimate that tariffs could add $10,900, on average, to the cost of a new single-family home, according to NAHB's April Housing Market Index survey.

Shoes

Looking to buy a new pair of sneakers? U.S. consumers could pay between $6.4 billion and $10.7 billion more for footwear this year as a result of tariffs, a National Retail Federation report found.

Why? Because America sources most of its shoes from overseas, with China providing about 38 percent of footwear imports, according to the most recent data from the U.S. International Trade Commission. Nearly half of shoe executives surveyed recently by the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America said they anticipate their retail prices will increase by more than 5 percent in 2025.

“For context, not once in more than four decades have footwear prices risen more than 5 percent in a year,” says Gary Raines, the trade group's chief economist.

Toys

Nearly 80 percent of toys sold in the U.S. are sourced from China, according to The Toy Association, a national industry group.

As a result, toy prices are already increasing due to tariffs, rising 1.3 percent from April to May.

Wine and spirits

On March 13, Trump threatened to impose a headline-grabbing 200 percent tariff on European wine, champagne and spirits if the European Union moves forward with a 50 percent tax on U.S.-produced whiskey. A tariff of that size could cause alcohol prices to skyrocket, economists say.

If history is any guide, connoisseurs of European wine will be hit particularly hard, says Karl Storchmann, a clinical professor of economics at New York University and editor of the Journal of Wine Economics. “From the 25 percent tariffs that were imposed on bottled still wine from France, Spain, Germany and the UK from October 2019 to March 2021, we know that the burden was split between producers and consumers,” he says.

Though it would be imposed only on Europe, the proposed 200 percent tariff could have a global impact on wine prices, Storchmann adds: "The entire wine trade — spanning importers, wholesalers, retailers, bars and restaurants — would certainly be hard hit, if not potentially wiped out."

%{postComment}%

Daniel Bortz is a personal finance editor at AARP. His work has been published by the New York Times, Washington Post, Consumer Reports, Entrepreneur, Kiplinger, Newsweek, Money and other national publications.