Marketplace The price is never right anymore
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Feb 19, 2026 Elizabeth Trofal, a field reporter on immigration and energy intersections. Kristen Schwab, a consumer-economics reporter on price perception. Sabree Beneshore, a trade and macroeconomics reporter covering tariffs and trade. They dig into why people misjudge prices, how dynamic online pricing plays a role, the impact of tariffs on the trade deficit and small businesses, and a Venezuelan community where energy and immigration collide.
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Tariffs Didn’t Shrink The Trade Deficit
- Trump's tariffs have not reduced the U.S. trade deficit overall through 2025 despite aiming to do so.
- Currency moves and investor flows offset import declines, leaving the trade balance roughly unchanged.
Small Firm’s Tariff Strain
- Fran Dunaway of Tomboy X describes moving production and paying huge tariff rates that threatened profitability.
- At one point the company paid more in tariffs than its operating loss, making tariffs the difference between profit and loss.
Exchange Rates Counter Tariff Effects
- Tariffs can strengthen the dollar by reducing demand for foreign currency, which then harms exports.
- That exchange-rate channel often neutralizes tariff impacts on the trade deficit.