North Carolinians are facing skyrocketing grocery prices thanks to Michael Whatley-backed tariffs. Whatley has called the chaotic trade war “record setting in terms of […] effectiveness” and has supported it “wholeheartedly.”

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The Guardian: ‘Empty shelves, higher prices’: Americans tell of cost of Trump’s tariffs

Shrai Popat | October 19, 2025

• As a mother of two, Paige Harris has noticed a change in the way she shops for her family.
• “Items that I have bought regularly have gone up in price steadily,” she said. “From hair dye to baby formula, our grocery list has gotten smaller while our budget has had to increase. Meats like steak are a no-go for our household.”
• Harris, 38, lives and works as a teacher’s assistant in Stella, North Carolina, and is one of almost 40 people who spoke to the Guardian about how they’ve been coping with the price of goods in the six months since Donald Trump announced his sweeping tariffs.
• On Thursday, a study from S&P Global revealed that companies were expected to pay at least $1.2tn more in 2025 expenses than was previously anticipated. But the burden, according to the researchers, is now shifting to US consumers. They calculated that two-thirds of the “expense shock”, more than $900bn, will be absorbed by Americans. Last month, the Yale Budget Lab estimated tariffs would cost households almost $2,400 more a year.
• Harris says the tariffs’ impact on her daily life contradicts promises from the Trump administration to “cut prices and make living affordable for everyone”. She said: “You see prices soaring. It has become very clear that this administration did not and does not care about the everyday lives of Americans.”
• Several Americans told the Guardian their weekly budgets had been drastically altered with the introduction of Trump’s tariffs.
• For Cassie, a 25-year-old consultant based in Siler City, North Carolina, costs have shot up quickly compared to the “gradual price increases” during the first two years of the pandemic. Cassie has a strict $65 per week budget for groceries, but since Trump first announced his tariffs, she’s been priced out of her normal routine, which included doing most of her weekly shopping at Walmart.

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