Tracking U.S. Consumers' Views on Tariffs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
While the details have changed quickly, President Trump has made tariffs a centerpiece of his administration’s policy toolkit, creating risks for U.S. consumers and companies alike. This tracker uses proprietary Morning Consult survey data to comprehensively monitor U.S. consumers’ attitudes surrounding the tariffs, including awareness and support, inflation expectations and spending behavior, and corporate blame. The tracker updates monthly. The latest data comes from a survey conducted August 11-13, 2025, among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Key Takeaways
In September, U.S. adults were perfectly split on tariff approval, with equal shares approving and disapproving. Older adults drove a slight decline in net approval from the prior month.
Overall, views on tariffs appeared relatively stable over the past month, though awareness declined to its lowest level (64%) recorded since the December 2024 run of this survey. Consumers may be reading fewer headlines or hearing less news about tariffs following the spate of deadlines and announcements in early August. Consequently, public opinion on tariffs may be stabilizing at current levels as consumers are less exposed to new information that might alter perceptions.
Consumers are noticing the reheating of inflation, and are attributing rising goods prices to tariffs. While overall food inflation hasn’t dramatically accelerated, it has trended up over the past few months and consumers are highly attuned to these changes, with 81% reporting price increases they believe are linked to tariffs. Furthermore, the share of adults reporting having noticed no tariff-related price increases across any of the categories queried fell slightly to a new low of 9%.
Tariff-related price increases are often being absorbed by consumers. The shares of adults who said they spent more on various categories due to tariffs mostly held steady since August, but climbed since May along with rising shares of consumers noticing higher prices. Once again, groceries had the highest share of reported cost increases, with nearly half of adults saying they’ve increased their spending on this category.
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Tariff timeline
Approval & Awareness
U.S. consumers’ approval of tariffs
U.S. consumers' awareness of tariffs
Economic Impact & Cost Pass-Through
U.S. consumers' views of tariffs' effects on the economy
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers' views of tariffs' effects on the economy
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers' views of tariffs' effects on their household finances
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers' views of tariffs' effects on their household finances
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers' tariff concerns
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers’ expectations that companies will pass along tariff costs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers' expectations for how much of the tariffs' costs U.S. companies will pass on
Inflation & Consumer Spending
U.S. consumers' tariff-driven inflation perceptions
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
The share of U.S. consumers who say they are spending more or less on purchases in each of the following categories because of tariff-related price increases
Actions U.S. consumers say they are taking in response to tariffs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
The amount by which U.S. consumers estimate the tariffs increased their household’s expenses in the preceding month
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
How U.S. consumers say their savings will change
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Perceptions of Corporate Responses
U.S. consumers’ perceptions of American companies’ responses to the tariffs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers’ preferred corporate responses to tariffs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Attributing Blame
U.S. consumers’ views on who benefits from tariffs by political affiliation
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
U.S. consumers’ views on who benefits from tariffs, trended
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with margins of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Whom U.S. consumers blame for inflation they attribute to tariffs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Whom U.S. consumers blame for inflation they attribute to tariffs
Surveys conducted monthly among roughly 2,000 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
Methodology
All survey data presented in this tracker was collected through Morning Consult’s proprietary survey research capabilities. All survey interviews are conducted online. Data is weighted to approximate representative samples of U.S. adults.
The most recent survey was conducted September 11-14, 2025, among roughly 2,200 U.S. adults, with a margin of error of +/-2 percentage points.
About Morning Consult
Morning Consult is a global decision intelligence company changing how modern leaders make smarter, faster, better decisions. The company pairs its proprietary high-frequency data with applied artificial intelligence to better inform decisions on what people think and how they will act. Learn more at morningconsult.com.
Email [email protected] to speak with a member of the Morning Consult team.
Sonnet Frisbie is the deputy head of political intelligence and leads Morning Consult’s geopolitical risk offering for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Sonnet spent over a decade at the U.S. State Department specializing in issues at the intersection of economics, commerce and political risk in Iraq, Central Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. She holds an MPP from the University of Chicago.
Follow her on Twitter @sonnetfrisbie. Interested in connecting with Sonnet to discuss her analysis or for a media engagement or speaking opportunity? Email [email protected].
Amy He leads Industry Analysis at Morning Consult. Prior to joining Morning Consult, Amy served as the executive editor at eMarketer, and was a China reporter for many years. She graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and East Asian studies. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected].
Deni Koenhemsi leads Economic Analysis at Morning Consult. Previously, she was a senior associate at S&P Global, where she managed a team of economists, forecasted commodity prices and advised Fortune 500 companies on their procurement and planning decisions. She received a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Richmond and a master’s degree in international economics from American University. For speaking opportunities and booking requests, please email [email protected]