Back to School Tariffs

By James Yu Sept. 24, 2025

Durable backpacks, No. 2 pencils, red pens and composition notebooks–each of these items a necessity on a student’s shopping list. Yet, as schools come back into session, new trade tariffs are sending shockwaves for shoppers nationwide, as students and their families face substantial price increases on these back-to-school staples.  

Tariffs are a type of tax applied on foreign goods imported into the United States. A key component of his administration’s economic policy, President Trump has leveraged tariffs to reduce the U.S.’s trade deficit with over 20 trading partners such as China and Japan. Many of the new tariffs target countries that produce school supplies—the U.S. Chamber of Commerce finds that the average tariff rate on school supplies jumped from 5% to 18% in the past year. Overall, the tariffs inflicted over $73 million in taxes on school supplies in May and June alone, which is a 9% increase on the average price, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

“While maintaining balance of trade with other nations is important, achieving this goal should not come at the cost of increased prices on necessities like school supplies,” Junior Krishay Madhav said.  

These price hikes have exacerbated existing back-to-school shopping expenses. According to the National Retail Federation, families with students in K-12 education on average plan to spend almost $875 on back-to-school shopping, with items ranging from school supplies to clothing and electronics. This figure, although slightly lower than the Federation’s projection for last year, represents the second highest cost estimate in over a decade, reflecting broad rises in the prices of goods. As a result, data from the personal finance company Intuit Credit Karma finds that over 44% of families plan to go into debt to purchase school supplies for their children; this is a 10% increase from 2024.  

Faced with rising prices, many families are shifting their buying habits. The National Retail Federation furthers that amidst economic uncertainty, over 67% of back-to-school consumers began purchasing supplies as early as the beginning of July, a 12% increase from last year and the highest recorded since 2018. Shoppers are starting early in order to avoid price inflation or possible tariff raises, locking in purchases at current price levels.  

“I started picking up school supplies well before the school year began. Usually, waiting too long on back-to-school shopping leads to missing out on sweet deals and picking out from empty shelfs, especially this year as prices have gone up sharply,” Senior Litong Nie said. 

On the other hand, many families are taking advantage of online sales to cut down on costs. According to CBS News, a survey conducted by Walmart found that 70% of its customers planned to spend more time this year searching for discounts on school supplies. As a result, Walmart, as well as other large retailers such as Target and Amazon, started offering major sales to attract shoppers. Specifically, Amazon unleashed thousands of discounts on goods ranging from backpacks to dorm furnishings for college students during its four-day Prime Day sales event, which CNN finds generated a 175% increase in school supply sales.  

As prices for school supplies are set to only further rise as tariffs remain, students and their families alike will face deep financial burdens while preparing for the new school year. Thus, many will continue to adapt their shopping habits in order to prepare for the school year while avoiding increased costs. 

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About the Contributors

James Yu

Ad Manager

James Yu is a Senior at Leland High School and Page Editor for the Sports Section. He loves listening to music and reviewing the newest releases as Music Columnist. Outside of Journalism, he enjoys debating for the debate team, hanging out with friends, and sleeping.