Tariffs on Mexico and Canada took effect today ahead of President Donald Trump's address at a joint session of Congress.

This comes with the backdrop of economic uncertainty as Americans brace for higher costs on everything from produce to electronics.

All three countries have since announced retaliatory tariffs.

"Uncertainty is really spread across businesses and households because we don't know how much things are going to cost in the future," said Caleb Silver, editor-in-chief of Investopedia. "So when you have pricing uncertainty, but you know that prices are going to rise, that causes the pullback in spending across the board."

Silver said the stock market has been selling off for the last couple of weeks with the announcement of tariffs. Now that they're in place, as well as retaliatory tariffs, there was another sell off.

"Investors don't like uncertainty. And tariffs bring inflation and uncertainty with them," said Silver.

Adding to growing concerns about inflation, major retailers Target and Best Buy announced price increases likely to begin in the coming weeks, citing the increased costs of products that come from Mexico, China and Canada.

"Supply chains are very long term, somewhat brittle things to manage. And so companies make a lot of long term assumptions around where they're going to source raw materials and supply," said Bob Carpenter, president and CEO of GS1 US, a non-profit that creates data, transparency and standards for supply chains globally.

Carpenter said companies are thinking through their options to adjust their supply chains and running scenarios to find what the costs are to change and if they're worth it.

"It's very hard to pivot because, again, these are relationships that have gone back decades for many industries," Carpenter said.

Carpenter said a lot of the conversation now is about near-shoring keeping supplies near their destinations.

"But some of the challenges around near shoring is really the constraints and infrastructure," he said. "These are massive changes in infrastructure that have big risk and don't happen overnight."

Carpenter said one of the effects could be less options for consumers. Manufacturers may stop making certain products, similar to what happened during the pandemic. It was more affordable for manufacturers to consolidate demand into fewer products.

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Meanwhile, President Trump's economic approval ratings are sliding. He ran on an economic platform, promising to lower the cost of living. A promise most Americans don't feel he's keeping.

According to a February Gallup poll 54% of Americans disapprove of the president's economic stewardship and a Reuters/Ipsos poll last week shows only 30% of people think the national economy is going in the right direction.

The United States is set to impose new tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico starting Tuesday, while also doubling its existing 10% tariff on imports from China, as confirmed by President Trump.

These tariffs could have significant repercussions for American farmers, who rely heavily on imported fertilizers. In 2023, American farmers spent nearly $36 billion on fertilizers, with a substantial portion dedicated to potash, a key ingredient primarily imported from Canada.

"I'm not stopping the tariffs, no, no," President Trump said, affirming his stance on the tariff increases.

Colin Grabow, a tariffs and trade expert from the Cato Institute, warned, "The majority will be felt on the American side. When we look at past tariffs that have been imposed, say, for example, under the first Trump administration, most studies found that there was substantial, if not complete pass through of the tariffs on to the consumer."

The reliance on Canadian imports is particularly pronounced for potash, with the U.S. importing 80 percent of its supply from Canada. This dependency highlights the potential impact of the new tariffs on American agriculture.

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On social media platform X, the president of the American Farm Bureau Federation urged President Trump to seek alternatives to imposing tariffs, emphasizing the financial strain on farm families.

President Trump acknowledged the likely agricultural effects of the tariffs on Monday in a post on his social media site Truth Social.

"To the Great Farmers of the United States: Get ready to start making a lot of agricultural product to be sold INSIDE of the United States. Tariffs will go on external product on April 2nd."

"Have fun!" the president said.

As the new tariffs take effect, American consumers and farmers alike may soon feel the financial impact, with potential increases in consumer prices and agricultural costs looming on the horizon.

According to an analysis by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, tariffs against major trading partners like Canada, Mexico, and China could cost the average U.S. household over $1,200 annually.

This story was initially reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.

President Donald Trump has threatened to place tariffs on multiple countries, including close trading partners Mexico and Canada.

But experts worry about how these hefty tariffs which are taxes paid by importing companies, not foreign nations will impact the average US online shopper.

Personal finance expert Matt Schulz at LendingTree says US consumers have come to increasingly rely on e-commerce.

So many people did most if not all of their holiday shopping online, said Schulz. So, it's a really significant thing in this country no question about it.

While tariffs against Mexico and Canada have been delayed for at least a month, levies on China are set to go into effect Tuesday.

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The tariffs include the suspension of a trade loophole known as de minimis, which allows foreign companies to ship packages worth less than $800 into the U.S. duty-free. The loophole has helped low-cost Chinese e-commerce companies like Temu and Shein, as well as the largest online retailer Amazon, to ship bargain priced items directly to customers.

Without this loophole experts say companies will have to find ways to offset rising costs, which includes raising prices for consumers.

We're going to see higher prices for consumers, period, Maggie Barnet, CEO of LVK, a third-party logistics company, told Scripps News. That's going to happen. That's the easiest way to solve this issue for those brands.

Barnett said the tariffs will also significantly change how U.S. consumers shop online.

I think people are going to start to see that it's not great to be consuming this much and maybe it'll help them think twice, Barnett said, Like, hey, I would spend $8 for that, but not $18. And maybe the consumption will go down. However, that's a hard trend to change.

The Trump Administration saw its first legislative win Wednesday with the signing of the Laken Riley Act, the new law requiring all unauthorized immigrants accused of theft or violent crimes to be detained before theyve been convicted. But not all of President Donald Trumps efforts are on their way to swift victories.

One of Trumps most controversial executive orders is facing major legal challenges. The presidents repeal of birthright citizenship for the children of unauthorized immigrants, a right enshrined in the 14th amendment to all born on U.S. soil, has been temporarily blocked by a judge who called it blatantly unconstitutional.

Andrew Cherkasky, a former federal prosecutor, believes this issue will go all the way to the highest court in the nation.

It's something that the Supreme Court has not specifically spoken on in light of the idea that

the parents of a child born on U.S. soil are illegal immigrants.

Another move facing legal backlash, the administrations federal grant freeze.

The order sparked chaos and confusion about programs like Medicaid and HeadStart. It has resulted in two lawsuits and was temporarily blocked just moments before it was set to go into effect.

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Trumps ban on transgender service members also faces legal roadblocks. The executive order banning trans servicemember from the military is a revival of efforts Trump accomplished during his first term but was reversed by former President Joe Biden. The president's most recent attempt at this ban has resulted in a lawsuit filed by six transgender service members.

Cherkasky said these challenges are something the Trump administration prepared for.

It's very common for presidents when they come into office to issue many new executive orders that are consistent with their viewpoints, said Cherkasky. You naturally get pushback on that. And one of the ways to fight against those actions of the president is to file lawsuits and then the judiciary gets to make those decisions.

The fate of these actions, ultimately not in Trump's hands, but also not expected to end without a fight.

He is going

to vigorously fight and defend the positions that he has on these things, said Cherkasky. Unquestionably.

These issues could be resolved sooner than some would think.

The pace at which it goes through the court system can actually be quite rapid, said Cherkasky. Especially for sensitive cases that have immediate impacts, like the immigration issues, like the birthright citizenship issue, like certain questions regarding military orders or actions. All of those things have very high priority in the Supreme Court and can be answered in as little as 6 months to a year.

The challenges against Tumps birthright citizenship ban and federal grant freeze that resulted in temporary blocks are scheduled for hearings next week.

Congress is working to nail down funding for President Donald Trumps promised immigration policies.

We have to figure out ways to get funds, resources, to accomplish what those executive orders laid out, Ohio representative Jim Jordan told Scripps News.

There are approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the United States, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Those millions could now face heightened immigration enforcement as President Trump works to fulfill his promise of mass deportations a promise that could cost the government billions.

Michael Clemens, a fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said the U.S. is already spending massive amounts on immigration.

If you put together the budgets of all the other federal law enforcement agencies combined, the whole budget of the FBI, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Secret Service, everything combined isn't even a fraction of the amount that we have already been spending on immigration enforcement, said Clemens. It is a vast component of the U.S. budget, and it is clearly going to scale up by multiples.

While the exact costs are still unclear, Rep. Jordan told Scripps News Trumps border czar Tom Honan puts that number in the billions.

I think Mr. Homan has indicated he needs about $80 billion for agents, for flights, for detention space, detention beds, said Jordan. All the things you need to do what we told the American people were going to do.

The American Immigration Council puts that number a bit higher, estimating a longer-term deportation operation to cost $88 billion to deport 1 million people per year.

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A detailed list from the House Budget Committee published by the New York Times includes a host of options, like cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, eliminating credit for child or dependent care, and increasing certain tariffs on China.

For the potential impact Trumps immigration policies could have on the average American, Clemens pointed to Secure Communities, a mass deportation program that began at the end of the Bush administration and was carried out during the Obama administration. The program is estimated to have resulted in about half a million deportations, according to Clemens.

There's absolutely no reason to think that that's the fundamental economic effects of mass deportation under the Obama administration will be different from this time, except that they'll be magnified, Clemens old Scripps News.

So, Americans can expect fewer job opportunities, higher prices for a range of goods, he continued. They can expect less new home construction. They can expect higher rates of institutionalization for the elderly, and they can expect no change in the crime rate.

In addition to funding, the presidents mass deportation operation may have to clear several other hurdles. Immigration and law experts say those could include legal challenges from civil rights groups, pushback from certain cities and local law enforcement, as well as concerns about economic instability.

President Donald Trump is reversing course on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility policies.

The order by the Office of Personnel Management directs department heads to notify DEIA employees that they would be placed on paid administrative leave.

The federal government is now joining a growing list of companies that have pulled back on DEI initiatives.

Dee C. Marshall, CEO of consulting firm Diverse & Engaged, says companies started dialing back on DEI programs after two Supreme Court decisions.

"The first part of this was overturning Roe v. Wade, and then the second was overturning affirmative action," Marshall said. "Many corporations begin immediately, you know, rolling back, and they took that as a welcome mat."

David Glasgow of NYU says most organizations are still doing DEI work but not necessarily calling it DEI.

"Anti-DEI activists over the past few years have really tried to weaponize that acronym of DEI and make it into a bogeyman of some kind," Glasgow said.

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The Biden administration's DEI orders were intended to address inequalities among numerous groups.

Trump has referred to these programs as "discrimination" and insists on restoring strictly "merit-based" hiring.

Some experts warn of the repercussions of not prioritizing inclusivity.

"I would just encourage every leader, every CEO, every people leader to focus on and reprioritize safety," Marshall said.

"I think any organization that wants to succeed, wants to make sure that they're looking for talent wherever it lies," Glasgow said.