To see how tariffs might cost you, take a look inside one local closet

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President Trump’s latest tariffs took effect overnight. But there’s still a lot of uncertainty about how much they will cost Americans.

Many US companies that import foreign goods will almost certainly offset the tariffs by selling those goods to Americans at a markup. Yet how much that will actually hike consumers’ bottom lines is harder to predict. Yale economists estimated last week that the tariffs could cost the average household up to $3,800 within the year. But since then, Trump has raised tariffs on China, a major US trading partner, even higher.

Still, even spot-on projections can feel abstract. So to give you a more concrete sense of how tariffs may affect you, I went shopping in my own house. I rounded up items — clothes, appliances, food, and more — that are sourced in whole or in part from abroad and could cost more if I bought them today. Here’s what I found.

There I got some bad news for fellow bookworms: Tariffs seem likely to raise the prices of many books. That might seem surprising at first. If you flip to a typical copyright page, you’ll probably find some version of the phrase “Printed in the United States of America.”

But while most books sold in the US are printed here, the components that go into that process, including paper and machinery, are often imported. US companies buy hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of paper for books every year — mostly from Canada, which Trump has hit with a 25 percent tariff on many goods. One publisher estimated that the tariffs will add $1 to what Americans pay for each hardcover his company publishes. Depending on how voracious you are, that adds up.

What else? The couch I like to read on contains imported materials and would likely cost more today; yesterday, Trump raised tariffs on Chinese goods to 104 percent. Most furniture sold in the US is produced overseas, but even furniture produced stateside can use imported wood, fabric, and screws that tariffs will hit.

The chair in the corner is from Romania. I bought it used, so I probably wouldn’t have paid more to a company. Yet tariffs might still balloon the cost of used goods. If the seller originally purchased the imported chair for more, they might choose to pass along that added cost to a secondhand buyer like me.

Every item hanging there was imported, mostly from Asian countries like Indonesia, Thailand, and Sri Lanka (see the photo above). My fiancée’s — which included clothes from Reformation, Madewell, and Uniqlo — showed much the same.

Major US clothing brands, including Nike, Nordstrom, and the Gap, source apparel from abroad. The tariffs threaten to upend American retailers’ longstanding business model of selling imported goods for relatively cheap. Some are already feeling the pinch. Vietnam, which makes Nike apparel, offered to zero out its tariffs on US goods if the White House did the same. So far, the administration has refused.

Several items — apples grown locally, wine bottled in California — seem unlikely to be affected by tariffs.

But others would be. The honey I bought last weekend comes from Brazil. A pouch of rice, it turns out, came from Germany. And while my chai advertises itself as having been “packed with pride” in Kentucky, a quick Google search revealed that the company sources its tea leaves from India and other countries.

Dunkin’, another source of morning caffeine, fares little better. The company buys much of its coffee from Central and South America. The machine I brew it in, made in China by an Italian company, will probably see a price hike, too. And when I restock bell peppers, avocados, and other largely imported produce this weekend, I may end up paying more for them.

Not all prices will go up overnight. As my colleague Hiawatha Bray explains, new car prices could remain stable for weeks or months as dealers clear out their existing, pre-tariff inventory. The same principle applies to refrigerators, toasters, washing machines, and other appliances. But tariffs will eventually catch up to most of them. Household appliances are often manufactured abroad, but even those assembled in the US sometimes use foreign components.

Nobody likes paying more for things, as the last few years have made clear. But although tariffs will likely raise prices across the board, their effects will not be felt equally. Instead, higher costs will hit lower-income Americans the hardest. Yes, some businesses — like this Vermont food manufacturer that buys most of its materials domestically — could benefit. But those that can’t afford higher import duties, or whose customers will shop elsewhere if prices rise, may fold. That could mean more layoffs, less consumer spending, and broader economic damage.

And fewer people buying books, let alone a couch to read on.

More on tariffs:

• After rising on hopes that Trump would strike deals to avert tariffs, US stocks closed lower, and futures fell.
• Some New England small businesses are bracing for a recession. Others just want clarity.
• Elon Musk is feuding with fellow Trump adviser Peter Navarro over tariffs, calling him “dumber than a sack of bricks.” “Boys will be boys,” the White House said. (Newsweek)
• Tariffs are already souring trade relations. When the US asked European countries to send eggs to lower store prices for Americans, most refused. (Quartz)

🧩 6 Across: Access | ☀️ 45º Bright + sunny

Boston

• Case closed: Tania Fernandes Anderson will resign from the City Council after agreeing to plead guilty to federal corruption charges in an alleged kickback scheme.
• Valedictory: After nearly 50 years of leading a historic Black church, a pastor prepared to deliver his final sermon.
• Jarren Duran: The Red Sox player’s attempted suicide offers a lesson to all sports fans, Dan Shaughnessy writes. Duran says he shared his story to help others who are struggling.

Massachusetts and New England

• ‘Faustian choice’: Governor Maura Healey’s budget would cut Massachusetts mental health services.
• He’s out: Chris Sununu, New Hampshire’s popular former Republican governor, won’t run for US Senate next year.
• Snowboarding accident: Authorities identified the 63-year-old man who died after falling 800 feet down a closed trail at Maine’s Sugarloaf Mountain.
• 250: Every year, these reenactors portray Revolutionary War soldiers. This year, it’s special. 

Trump administration

• The question of firings: Trump may soon ask the Supreme Court to rule on his power to fire officials. (Politico) Meanwhile, the court paused a judge’s order requiring the administration to reinstate thousands of fired federal workers. (ScotusBlog)
• Another resignation: The IRS’s acting head plans to resign after the agency agreed to share undocumented immigrants’ tax data with immigration officials who aim to deport them. (WashPost)
• Targeting foreign students: The administration revoked the visa of an international student at Bridgewater State University.
• Free speech: A judge ordered the administration to let the Associated Press cover White House events, saying that barring its journalists for not calling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” violated the First Amendment. (Politico)
• Coal comeback: Trump signed executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry. One rescinds Biden-era environmental rules. (North Dakota Monitor)
• Powering up: Massachusetts will get some federal funding to build electric vehicle charging stations. But Trump’s opposition means it may get less.
• Northern aggression: Canadians aren’t happy with the US. And Trump-critical Americans who plan to vacation in Canada worry about being typecast.

By Teresa Hanafin

💌 Love Letters: This happily married woman says she’s just being friendly, but men think she’s flirting. Meredith’s advice: Don’t change.

🗼 The Joy of Missing Out: Speaking of vacations, rather than rushing around to all the tourist hotspots, ditch the packed itinerary in favor of JOMO. (HuffPost)

⚾️ Believe! The rom-com “Fever Pitch” was released 20 years ago today, with a stunning ending that the Farrelly brothers — and Red Sox fans — never predicted.

🦍 King Kong returns: Yes, AI can be cool, but have you seen what drones can do? (Instagram)

🐣 Easter brunch: An easy salad with bacon and egg, a quick frittata, and a sweet corn cake mean you won’t be too busy cooking to take part in the egg hunt.

🍚 Rice is nice: Or you could ditch the eggs and fall in love with a rice cooker like food writer Devra First did.

🏝️ Loloma Hour: The South Pacific island of Fiji is asking tourists to help with its environmental issues by donating one hour of their vacation to a sustainability task: Plant a mangrove tree, clean a beach, count iguanas. Heck yeah. (Travel + Leisure)

😳 Regerts: In 2014, a cosmetics company called Ephemeral introduced a made-to-fade tattoo ink it said would disappear in 9-15 months. Guess what. (USA Today)

🕹️ More games: Like our mini-crossword linked above? Try the newest addition to our Puzzle lineup: Align. Remember, you have to get the words across and down.

Thanks for reading Starting Point.

This newsletter was edited by Teresa Hanafin and produced by Diamond Naga Siu.

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Ian Prasad Philbrick can be reached at ian.philbrick@globe.com.