On Wednesday, Fox Business host Charles Payne stated that the current high prices of certain products are not a result of President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Recent data from the consumer price index shows that inflation eased to 2.3% annually in April, marking the lowest rate in four years. Payne mentioned during an appearance on Fox & Friends with host Lawrence Jones that the tariffs don’t contribute to price increases for essential needs like hospital services and food. He highlighted the rising costs of things like car maintenance and insurance, which he argued are not linked to import duties.
He expressed his thoughts, saying, “If you look at headlines from April, you see ‘used cars are way up.’ But actually, the prices of used cars and trucks have decreased. Retailers are struggling in this climate, and yet, apparel prices have gone down. What is crucial, like car maintenance or hospital services, isn’t impacted by tariffs. We source our food locally; I mean, I’m not heading to Beijing for dinner.” He remarked that medical costs, which have risen, are necessities and unrelated to tariffs.
Payne characterized Trump’s tariffs as “a one-off hit” at most, attributing high prices instead to the ongoing struggle to bounce back from the record inflation seen during former President Joe Biden’s term. Under Biden, the CPI escalated from 1.4% at the beginning of the semester to a peak of 9.1% in June 2022, and there was a notable 20% price rise in May 2024.
The inflation figures were somewhat lower than anticipated, with economists expecting a 0.3% rise in the CPI. Additionally, the US and China reached an agreement to reduce tariffs by 115%, but an extra 10% would remain in place. Following retaliatory measures from China, Trump had instituted a 125% tariff on April 9, which increased to 145% the next day.
On April 9, Trump also implemented a temporary suspension of mutual tariffs for 90 days, affecting all countries except China, to facilitate trade talks.
Concerns regarding a potential recession have emerged, as media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, reported alarming metrics about the Dow Jones industrial average—citing it as experiencing the worst performance in April since 1932.
