• Media type: Report; E-Book
  • Title: Who Pays for the Tariffs and Why? A Tale of Two Countries
  • Contributor: Feng, Chaonan [Author]; Han, Liyan [Author]; Li, Lei [Author]
  • Published: Munich: Center for Economic Studies and ifo Institute (CESifo), 2023
  • Language: English
  • Keywords: tariff pass-through ; demand elasticity ; supply elasticity ; F61 ; import structure ; trade war ; product heterogeneity ; F14 ; F13
  • Origination:
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  • Description: During the U.S.-China trade war, the U.S. punitive tariffs were almost entirely borne by U.S. importers. In contrast, only 68% of China's retaliatory tariffs were paid by Chinese importers. The puzzling difference between the U.S. and China is mainly driven by their different import structures and product heterogeneity in tariff pass-through. China mainly imported products with lower tariff pass-through from the U.S., such as agricultural products and aircraft, while the U.S. primarily imported products with higher tariff pass-through from China, such as electronics. Furthermore, we decompose the product-level tariff pass-through and show that a higher ratio of import demand elasticity over export supply elasticity leads to lower tariff pass-through under perfect competition.
  • Access State: Open Access