Mitra Quoted in Wall Street Journal Article on Trump’s Trade War, Consumer Spending Habits

November 18, 2025

The Wall Street Journal

Tariffs

Trade

United States

The Wall Street Journal

Devashish Mitra

Americans’ shift from scarce, hard-earned purchases to effortless buying of cheap imported goods has fueled a decades-long rise in consumption, now colliding with higher costs as Trump-era tariffs raise prices on many items. Despite corporations absorbing some of the tariff impact, inflation is rising, and experts say it would take sustained higher prices or a major economic shift to meaningfully change shopping habits.

Some consumers are already trying to cut back—motivated by personal finances, environmental concerns, or social pressures—but overall demand for inexpensive goods remains strong and deeply ingrained in the U.S. economy.

“Whether or not people will keep buying as much stuff is very hard to predict,” says Devashish Mitra, professor of economics and Gerald B. and Daphna Cramer Professor of Global Affairs. “Chinese goods might still be relatively cheaper than the alternatives.”

Read more in the Wall Street Journal article, “Will Trump’s Trade War Break America’s Addiction to Cheap Stuff?”