Here’s what tariffs are and how they work [Video]

WASHINGTON – Tariffs are in the news at the moment. Here’s what they are and what you need to know about them:

Tariffs are a tax on imports

Tariffs are typically charged as a percentage of the price a buyer pays a foreign seller. In the United States, tariffs are collected by Customs and Border Protection agents at 328 ports of entry across the country.

U.S. tariff rates vary: They are generally 2.5% on passenger cars, for instance, and 6% on golf shoes. Tariffs can be lower for countries with which the United States has trade agreements. Before the U.S. began imposing 25% tariffs on good from Canada and Mexico as of Tuesday, most goods moved between the United States and those countries tariff-free because of President Donald Trump’s U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement.

Mainstream economists are generally skeptical about tariffs, considering them an inefficient way for governments to raise revenue.

There’s much misinformation about who actually pays tariffs

Trump is a …