How Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election could affect consumers' wallets

• Donald Trump won the US presidency in an overwhelming manner.
• His proposed measures, particularly sweeping tariffs, would have a significant impact on consumers.
• Below we detail how a second Trump presidency is likely to affect American wallets.

With Donald Trump declared the winner of the 2024 election, American consumers are excited about what a Trump 2.0 presidency will mean for their finances.

From investment portfolios to childcare costs, there could be significant changes. At the heart of Trump's overall agenda is his plan to impose tariffs on almost all U.S. imports, something seen as something that could drive up inflation.

Below we detail five categories – investments, total expenses, housing, taxes and child care – that U.S. consumers can expect to be affected by a new Trump presidency.

Trump's plan to cut the company The tax rate is generally seen as positive for earnings, particularly for the consumer discretionary, communications services and financial sectors. But his plan to tax all U.S. imports is seen as a headwind that could be inflationary and hurt consumer spending.

If these inflation concerns materialize, interest rates would rise and bond prices would fall. Trump is also considered bullish on cryptocurrencies and his protectionist policies are likely to drive the dollar higher.

These moves occurred after Trump won, and so-called Trump trading increased: stocks, Treasury yields, the dollar and Bitcoin rose significantly.

Trump's plan to impose a broad-based tariff of 10% to 20% on most goods imported from other countries Import-dependent products are widely expected to become more expensive – up to 60% on Chinese imports. The main categories with a high potential tariff risk include automobiles, human and veterinary pharmaceuticals, food and beverages, furniture and household appliances.

In this regard, the former president previously stated that he would reduce food prices by restricting food imports to strengthen domestic producers.

Trump said during the campaign that the ongoing housing shortage could be solved by deporting millions of people from the country. The newly elected president also said he could reduce demand by banning mortgages for immigrants living in the U.S. illegally.

During his previous term in the White House, Trump opposed building high-density housing in single-family neighborhoods, although he did not say during this term whether he would continue to pursue similar policies.

Furthermore, if Trump's presidency is inflationary and leads to interest rate increases, it would hurt housing affordability in the form of higher mortgage rates that track the Federal Reserve's benchmark.

Trump has proposed cutting the corporate tax rate for companies that make their products in the United States from 21% to 15%.

The former president has also said he plans to expand his series of tax cuts from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 – also known as the “Trump tax cut.”

Permanently continuing the TCJA's income tax provisions would amount to a tax cut of nearly $280,000 for the top 0.1% of earners, compared to $1,000 for middle-income Americans, an analysis by the Tax Policy Center found. Trump's plan for universal tariffs is seen as offsetting a positive tax impact and would be particularly costly for lower-income Americans.

Trump has proposed an expansion of the child tax credit, which is currently up to $2,000 per child. In August, vice presidential candidate JD Vance introduced a child tax credit proposal that would provide $5,000 per child for families of all income levels.

Additionally, Trump signed a bipartisan bill during his previous term that gave federal workers 12 weeks of paid parental leave, although he did not emphasize the issue during the 2024 campaign.