Goldman ran the math: you pay 55% of every tariff at the register

Added: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]So, you've been told that tariffs hit the importers. Goldman Sachs just ran the actual numbers and you were paying 55% of the bill, over half of the bill.

[00:00:07]I'm Tiku Anazoto and this is your daily money point where we spend 1 minute to make sense of the news affecting your wallet. Beef is up 16% over the last year. Coffee is up 20%. The political pitch on tariffs has always been importers pay consumers benefit. That's very simple, right? But it's not that simple. Goldman Sachs ran the math and the answer is actually the opposite. US consumers absorb 55% at the register.

[00:00:30]Companies eat 45%. So in every imported good, more than half the tariff bill is yours. Now the real math is if your family spends $1,000 a month in groceries, you're paying $50 to $100 more for the same cart this year every month. And that adds up to about $600 to $1,200 a year. So when you hear the importers are paying now, you know you actually pay. That's why your grocery bills are more expensive. And if your friend is complaining about how much more their coffee cost, that is why you're absorbing a bunch of that