Do the U.S. Tariffs Demonstrate Gender Bias?

Trump’s tariffs are bad enough on the United States and we – at Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global® – certainly don’t think of them as having any gender bias.  That is, until we read Prachi Agarwal’s comprehensive and pretty convincing article, “‘Pink tariffs’ worse for women:  are Trump’s new tariffs gender-based?”

According to Agarwal, while the bilateral nature of the tariffs – calculated based on the trade deficit (or surplus) that the US currently has with each of its trade partners – has been widely discussed, a critical dimension has been largely overlooked: the disproportionate burden these tariffs place on half of the global population: women. While the tariffs have been paused for a period of 90 days, if and when applied, they will not just be an economic policy – they will be a gendered one too.

Recognizing any disparity, Representatives Lizzie Fletcher (D-Texas), Don Beyer (D-Va) and Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) have introduced a bill calling for the US Treasury, with the USITC, USTR to conduct a “Pink Tariff Study.” This bill aims to quantify the difference in tariff revenues collected on men’s and women’s consumer goods imported by the US, highlighting the demonstrable gender bias in US trade policy.

The question remains: are these tariff disparities a coincidence or by design?  Read the article, see what you think, and let us know.