As US President Donald Trump threatens to impose sweeping tariffs on three biggest trading partners, economists have expressed concerns that this will increase inflation, slow economic growth, hurt US workers and result in American consumers footing the bill for his tariffs. President Trump plans to impose stiff tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China on Saturday, a move aimed at pressuring America’s largest trading partners into accepting more migrants and halting the flow of migrants and drugs into the United States.Trump will put a 25 percent tariff on goods from Mexico and Canada, along with a 10 percent tariff on Chinese products, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said in a news briefing Friday.

Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, Trump said the tariffs were punishment for Canada, Mexico and China allowing drugs and migrants to flood into the United States. His decision to hit America’s trading partners with tariffs could mark the beginning of a disruptive and damaging trade war, one that is far messier than the conflict that defined Trump’s first term.

ALSO READ: Massive 330 feet ‘city-destroying’ asteroid has a slim chance of hitting Earth, says NASA. Check date

“If there is a significant increase in tariffs … those costs will likely be passed onto U.S. consumers and businesses,” Brian Peck, executive director of University of Southern California’s Center for Transnational Law and Business, told CBS Los Angeles. “From Canada, we import oil, lumber, wood and cement,” he added. “Over 20% of the agriculture products we bring into the U.S. come from Mexico.”

Let’s try and understand how Trump’s tariffs will impact US economy

-If Trump imposes tariffs, it will make both imports and domestically produced goods more expensive. Tariffs would drive up inflation. -“Virtually all economists think that the impact of the tariffs will be very bad for America and for the world,” Joseph Stiglitz, an economics professor at Columbia University and a winner of the Nobel prize in economic sciences told the Guardian. “They will almost surely be inflationary.”-Americans would have to pay more for everything from automobiles to avacados if the Trump administration proceeds with its plan to slap stiff new tariffs on the nation’s three largest trading partners starting February 1.

ALSO READ: Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration: When will Guantanamo Bay ‘worst of the worst’ migrants flight start?

-If US imports of oil from Canada and Mexico are hit with levies it risks undermining Trump’s promise to bring down the cost of living. The cost of tariffs on imported energy could be passed on to businesses and consumers, which may increase the prices of everything from petrol to groceries.

-As painful as higher costs might be to U.S. consumers, the biggest impacts would likely be felt by the Canadian and Mexican economies, according to Wendong Zhang, assistant professor of applied economics and policy at Cornell University. A 25% tariff could cause Canada and Mexico to lose 3.6% and 2% of real GDP, respectively, versus a decline of 0.3% for the U.S., Zhang estimated, according to CBS News.

-Inflation-pinched consumers may face a surge in prices for fruits, vegetables and nuts imported from Mexico, including avocados — just in time for the Super Bowl on February 9. US also imports Mexican beer, tequila and other drinks and spirits. America about $40 billion of Canadian agricultural products that same year, including beef, pork, grains, potatoes and canola oil, the USDA notes.

ALSO READ: ‘What the hell just happened?’: Philadelphia plane crash’s horrific video captures man on fire running for his life

-American consumers are increasingly buying cars that are either built in Canada or Mexico or that use parts imported from those nations. The average automobile price in the United States is also expected to go up if Trump imposes 25 percent tariff in Canada or Mexico.

-About one-third of softwood lumber used in the U.S. is imported from Canada each year, according to Rajan Parajuli, an associate professor of forest economics and policy at North Carolina State University. Tacking a 25% tariff on Canadian lumber could cause a “supply shock,” the Forest Resources Association, a trade group, wrote in a December blog post.

-Tariffs would raise the price for those raising a glass of tequila or Canadian whisky.“At the end of the day, tariffs on spirits products from our neighbors to the north and south are going to hurt U.S. consumers and lead to job losses across the U.S. hospitality industry, just as these businesses continue their long recovery from the pandemic,” Chris Swonger, the council’s president and CEO told CBC.

-The tariffs, tensions and fears of retaliation and a trade war will probably cause many businesses to reduce their planned investments, and that, economists say, will hurt economies worldwide. If implemented, Trump’s tariffs will injure many US manufacturers, farmers and workers. Jim Stanford, a prominent Canadian economist who was long the top economist for Canada’s auto workers’ union, warned that if Trump imposes 25% tariffs on Canada, it would badly damage the US and Canadian auto industries.