President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 4, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Vice President J.D. Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, applaud behind. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Even before President Donald Trump announced 25% tariffs on nearly all goods from Mexico and Canada, a majority of Americans said prices would go up for U.S. consumers as a result, according to an Elon University Poll.Â
In a national poll of 1,101 people conducted from Feb. 6-11, 81% of respondents said tariffs would lead to increased prices, with 45% expecting significant increases. Half the respondents said tariffs would hurt small businesses.Â
About two-thirds of respondents said U.S. producers will suffer because of higher costs to import parts and materials.Â
In addition to the tariffs on Mexico and Canada. Trump added a 10% tariff on imports from China on Tuesday, on top of the 10% tariffs announced in February.
In response, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $100 billion in tariffs on American goods, the Associated Press reported. China said it would add tariffs of up to 15% on US agricultural products, NBC News reported. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum left open the possibility of retaliatory tariffs.Â
On Wednesday, Trump would put a one-month pause tariffs on cars from Canada and Mexico.
Elon University Poll results showed distinct partisan differences among respondents. While 66% of Democrats said tariffs would significantly increase prices, only 19% of Republicans said the same. Fifty-four percent of independents said prices would go up significantly.Â
While 76% of Republicans said tariffs would lead to more jobs in the United States, only 22% of Democrats said that was likely or very likely to happen.Â
The poll had a margin of error of 3.51 percentage points.Â