Key Point: “New analysis of U.S. Census data shows that states across the U.S. where key midterm elections will take place this year paid over $134 billion in tariffs in the period since President Donald Trump began implementing widespread trade duties in March 2025 through last November.”

CNBC: Tariff bills across U.S. states mount as affordability and Trump head for midterm elections showdown

[Lori Ann LaRocco, 2/11/26]

• New analysis of U.S. Census data shows that states across the U.S. where key midterm elections will take place this year paid over $134 billion in tariffs in the period since President Donald Trump began implementing widespread trade duties in March 2025 through last November. 

• In all, the U.S. Census data compiled by Trade Partnership Worldwide showed a total of $199 billion in tariffs paid by states during that time period.

• Recent CNBC survey data from the American consumer and pricing data show that the affordability issues are real and many voters have soured on the economy. 

• A January poll from The New York Times and Siena University found that 54% of voters oppose Trump’s tariffs.

• “Americans struggling with affordability rightly blame tariffs for higher prices on many everyday purchases,” said Dan Anthony, executive director of the We Pay the Tariffs small business coalition and president of Trade Partnership Worldwide. “The president could eliminate tens of billions in taxes in the states that will determine the 2026 elections. He just doesn’t want to,” Anthony said.

• Top states and tariff bills
  • California: $38 billion
  • Texas: $21 billion
  • Michigan: $13 billion
  • Georgia: $12 billion
  • Illinois: $9.6 billion
  • Ohio: $6.5 billion
  • Pennsylvania: $6.3 billion
  • North Carolina: $5 billion
  • South Carolina: $5.2 billion
  • Kentucky: $4 billion

• Chris Gibbs, a Shelby County, Ohio, farmer of corn, soybeans, wheat, alfalfa hay, and a 90-head cow-calf operation, said the tariffs have hit him two-fold. “My operating costs are soaring,” said Gibbs. “Tariffs on steel, aluminum and lumber raised the cost on anything I do. From building buildings, barns, buying machinery, trailers, wheels, and parts, and even my fertilizer,” he said.

• Gibbs said the tariff aid Trump has promised to farmers is a slap in the face to all farmers and Americans. “If these checks ever do come, it is money paid I spent on the tariffs as well as all American consumers,” Gibbs said.

• In New York, toy store owner Jennifer Bergman closed her West Side Kids, which was founded by her mother, after 44 years of operation because of the tariffs. “The majority of our toys are manufactured in China, so the tariff costs took over our business,” said Bergman.

• In Tempe, Arizona, Brick Road Coffee opened during the pandemic in 2021. … “We order 4,000 pounds of coffee monthly, primarily for two shops, and face increased costs due to tariffs on green coffee and other supplies,” said Hagen. “Despite absorbing costs at the coffee shop, unfortunately for our roasting business, we had to raise prices.”