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In Endicott County, New York, when 43-year-old Lisa Mezler was confronted with her daughter's question "Why can't we have a normal dinner like other families?", the cheaper frozen foods in the refrigerator became a silent commentary on life. Since August 7th, the latest tariff rate imposed by the US federal government has been in effect for a week. The Wall Street Journal began its story with Lisa Mezler's tale, depicting the situation of ordinary Americans under the shadow of tariffs. The latest report from Fitch Ratings shows that the new tariff policy will raise the actual tariff rate in the US to 17%. Tariffs are "eating away" the wallets of ordinary American consumers.

The dilemma of the dining table in inflation

As an employee of a non-profit organization, Lisa Mezler earns $37,500 a year, far above the poverty line set by the US federal government, but her life is tight. Her credit cards are maxed out, her mortgage is often overdue, and she relies on a $253 monthly food assistance coupon. Even having a "normal dinner" for her daughter has become a luxury. "Sometimes I wonder, what did I do wrong?" she said with tears in her eyes.

Mezler's predicament is not an isolated case. The tariffs imposed by the US government on countries around the world are being transmitted layer by layer through the supply chain to the dining tables of American citizens. The latest poll by the Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center shows that the overall inflation caused by tariffs is making food and groceries the "main stressor" for half of Americans.

Low-income families are the first to bear the brunt, as a larger proportion of their income is spent on rigid expenditures such as food. Charity organizations like food banks are receiving a surge in demand. According to The Wall Street Journal of the US, in Bloom County, New York State, the Southern Interior Food Bank received over 92,000 requests for children's food in 2024, doubling the data from 2019. The child poverty rate in the county soared from 17.6% in 2021 to 27% in 2022 and remained at 19.8% in 2023. "The minimum wage is simply not enough to support a family," said Kristi Finch, the deputy director of the local non-profit organization "Mothers and Babies," "Families have to choose between paying rent, buying food, or paying for heating." The middle class is also not immune to the pressure. Shadhar Lechelle, with an annual income of nearly $100,000, has also started shopping at discount supermarkets, "even if the quality is not so good." Architect Kevin Owen Kelly in Los Angeles said that his family has cut their budget at all levels. He and his wife no longer have the luxury of spending $150 on a dinner date on a night out. This year, they did not go to Hawaii or Mexico for a vacation, but instead took their 7-year-old daughter to visit relatives nearby. "The 'whatever' purchasing behavior has completely disappeared," Kelly said. "We now only spend money on things that can get the job done."

Bill anxiety during the price hike wave

"The prices are rising every week and every month. Every time I go to the supermarket, I see that they have gone up again." Maria Oliveira, a resident of Florida, told the Associated Press about the anxiety of all American consumers. A report from the Budget Lab at Yale University pointed out that tariffs would push up US prices by 2.1% in the short term, equivalent to a loss of $2,800 per household, and the losses for middle and low-income families would be three times that of wealthy families. US Senate Senator Chuck Schumer bluntly stated that the US government's tariff trade war is actually "a trade war against the American people."

The prices of imported goods were the first to be affected. Vietnam and Indonesia are the second and third largest suppliers of Adidas. The CEO of Adidas, Guldeng, told The Washington Post that tariffs have caused the company to lose several billion euros, and the cost pressure will push up the prices of sports shoes in the US market, and "the price increase is limited to the US only." According to NBC, nearly 30% of imported goods on the platforms of retailers such as Walmart and Target have increased by an average of 6%, covering categories such as dishwashers, running shoes, and smart phones.

Domestic manufacturing was also not spared. The Wall Street Journal reported that US automaker Ford had its costs increase sharply due to tariffs on steel and aluminum, thus raising the price of its best-selling truck, the F-150. The president of a bicycle company in Eugene, Oregon, Hannah, said: "Our bicycles can only be produced through the global supply chain. Some bicycle parts have never been produced in the United States. This could destroy the enterprise and the entire industry!"

The CEO of the second-largest retailer in the US, Kroger, Ron Sargent, said: "Consumers are visiting stores more often, but the items in their shopping carts are fewer." Kroger is selling more ordinary brand products and offering promotional activities to attract customers to continue visiting, "Although the receipts on each shopping cart are shrinking," Sargent said.

The shadow of unemployment amid uncertainty

The uncertainty of tariff policies is cooling the labor market, with enterprises showing a strong sense of hesitation. Job growth is weak. The Yahoo Finance channel cited the latest data released by the US Department of Labor, indicating that the US labor market has shown clear signs of cooling. The unemployment rate in the US rose to 4.2% in July 2025, and the number of new jobs was only 73,000, far below expectations. The data for May and June were further significantly reduced by 258,000 jobs, and the recruitment rate of enterprises dropped to the lowest level in seven months. The resignation rate of workers has decreased to 2%. Greg Dako, the chief economist of the accounting firm Ernst & Young, pointed out: "Policy uncertainty and tariffs are causing inflation, which is more significantly dragging down economic activities."

"The path to the American Dream has now turned into quicksand. I just want the business to survive, and I can no longer strive for expansion." Mike, a small business owner in Englewood, Colorado, said, "Trade policies should have provided the certainty needed for enterprises to make long-term decisions, but now this certainty no longer exists."

The latest tariff rates announced by the White House have been in effect for a week, but their negative impact has not yet reached its peak. The Wall Street Journal reported that according to the latest estimate by Goldman Sachs, currently, American consumers are only bearing 22% of the tariff costs. And it is expected that by October this year, as the cost transitions from importers to the consumer end, the tariff costs borne by American consumers will increase to 67%. The Yale University Budget Laboratory predicts that tariffs will cause the US unemployment rate to rise by 0.3 percentage points by the end of 2025 and by 0.7 percentage points by the end of 2026. The Federal Reserve warns that inflationary pressure has spread widely, and the risk of accelerating consumer price index growth this year has increased.

"When the White House boasts about the revenue brought by the tariff war, they are hiding the truth. These funds actually come from the pockets of Americans," US Senator Cantwell said, referring to the essence. When tariffs move from policy documents to supermarket shelves and paychecks, ordinary Americans are quietly paying the price of this trade game with their shrinking shopping carts, cancelled vacations, and increasingly long bills. In Endicot County, Lisa Mezler, who is thawing food, will still need to choose between rent and dinner tomorrow.