(The Center Square) – A U.S. taxpayer advocate says tariffs are hitting manufacturers and producers, leading to higher costs for Illinois families.
According to estimates prepared by Trade Partnership Worldwide for the National Taxpayers Union Foundation, executive tariffs have cost Illinois an estimated $17 billion since January 2025.
Bryan Riley, director of the National Taxpayers Union’s Free Trade Initiative, said tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump cost about $3,300 per household in Illinois, even though families may not be paying that much directly.
“In the state of Illinois, about three-fourths of the tariffs hit manufacturers and producers and make it harder for them to compete in the global economy,” Riley told The Center Square.
After Trump’s recent promise to impose 50% tariffs on Canadian vehicles, auto parts and steel on Jan. 1, Riley said businesses don’t know what to expect.
“How do you decide what to plant if you're a farmer? How do you decide when to source your products, your inputs if you're a manufacturer and which countries to bring them from?” Riley said.
Riley said most of Canada’s tariffs are in retaliation against U.S. tariffs.
According to NTUF estimates at tariffs.org, Illinois paid an extra $1.2 billion in tariffs for steel, aluminum and other metals, plus an extra $1.1 billion for tariffs on auto parts.
“If your auto insurance bill goes up this year, it might not have anything to do with your driving. It's because those car insurance companies pay for a lot of auto parts to repair those cars that have been in accidents,” Riley said.
Riley said health insurance is another example.
“If the cost of health care goes up because we've got tariffs on medical supplies, same thing. The cost gets hidden and buried in the costs, but it really affects a broad range of different items,” Riley said.
Illinois’ estimated $17 billion in tariff costs ranked fifth in the country and second only to Michigan in the Midwest.
No federal agency has published an estimate of what the tariffs cost the U.S. importers who pay them or the consumers who may bear higher prices.
Brett Rowland contributed to this story
