Americans are tasting the effects of President Trump’s broad tariffs at the supermarket, department store, and auto lot, as a fresh round of duties increases the cost of common imports. From bananas to running shoes to automobiles, a wide range of consumer products have become more costly this summer, generating sharp arguments in the US Congress and among irate consumers.
The Banana Moment in the US Congress
Among the most discussed moments came from a fiery exchange between Pennsylvania Representative Madeleine Dean and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick at a recent House committee hearing. Dean, wielding a banana as a prop, interrogated Lutnick about the actual-world implications of tariffs on foreign fruit:
- “Americans, by the way, loooove bananas. We purchase billions of them a year. I adore bananas. What’s the tariff on bananas?” Dean asked.
- “The tariff on bananas would be representative of the nations that grow them, usually 10%,” Lutnick answered.
DEAN: “What’s the tariff on bananas?”
LUTNICK: “10%.”DEAN: “Walmart already raised banana prices by 8%.”
LUTNICK: “Well, if you build in America, there’s no tariff.”
DEAN: “You can’t build bananas in America.” pic.twitter.com/Bl5zjnaKcr
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) June 24, 2025
Dean countered that Walmart, the largest grocery retailer in America, had already increased banana prices by 8% since the tariffs started, and she noted bananas are the number one item in their stores. She suggested that requiring the US to “build”, or produce bananas in-country was absurd, as almost all bananas originate in Central and South America. “We can’t build bananas in America,” Dean shot back, pointing out the mismatch between policy aspirations and consumer experience.
The viral “banana debate” has become a mini version of the wider controversy: tariffs can stimulate home industry in some corners, but for popular staples such as bananas, a fruit largely cultivated outside of the US, American families pay more, with limited substitutes.
What’s Getting More Expensive?
The bipartisan Budget Lab at Yale estimates the tariffs added in 2025 have raised consumer prices by 1.8% to date, an average blow of $2,400 per household this year, with disproportionate costs bearing down on low-income households. The hardest-hit products are:
- Apparel and Footwear: Short-term prices for footwear are up 39% and clothing 37%, with long-term price increases set to continue in the double-digits.
- Fresh Produce: Grocery shopping is becoming more expensive all around, with special hurt in imported fruits and vegetables. Fresh produce has gone up almost 4% so far, contributing to tariffs-driven food price increases of almost 3%.
- Motor Vehicles: Autos have added at least 8% to their price from tariff-generated import expense alone — about $4,000 on the tag price of an average new automobile.
- Household Goods: Apparel, electronics, kitchen utensils, and even toys are under new tariff burden, and consumers are rapidly seeing these added expenses passed along by retailers.
Broader Economic Impact
Analysts caution that tariffs are already making “headaches” for US households and businesses. Grocery store chains, clothing stores, automobile dealers, and manufacturers are increasing prices to absorb import expenses, while trade officials see more uncertainty for months ahead. Economists point out that trade partners are countering in similar fashion, and US exports have plummeted. While the government earns record revenue on tariffs, this is at the expense of increased household bills and reduced economic growth.
Nutshell Summary
It’s all the goods, from bananas to cars and clothes that are becoming more expensive for American families under sweeping tariffs. The “banana moment” in Congress diplays the uneven impacts and political friction of trade policy choices, as the tab for tariffs hits family budgets nationwide.
