Majorities of Americans approve of the Supreme Court's decision to strike down many of the tariffs Donald Trump imposed over the past year, think presidents should not be able to impose tariffs without congressional approval, and oppose Trump re-imposing tariffs using different laws.
What you need to know about Americans' views on tariffs, as of the February 20 - 23, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:
- 57% of Americans strongly or somewhat approve of the Supreme Court's decision, while 23% disapprove
- Most Democrats and Independents approve of the decision, but only 27% of Republicans do, while 51% of Republicans disapprove
- Among the majority (59%) of Republicans who say they are MAGA supporters, 18% approve and 64% disapprove
- Among the one-third (30%) of Republicans who say they're not MAGA supporters, 51% approve and 26% disapprove
- Only 21% of Americans say presidents should be able to impose tariffs without getting congressional approval, while 62% say they should not
- 23% of Americans — including 3% of Democrats, 13% of Independents, and 53% of Republicans — favor Trump re-imposing tariffs using a different law, while 54% of Americans oppose this
- 71% of Americans say Trump's tariffs increased the prices they pay for things, either by a lot (43%) or slightly (29%)
- Only 5% of Americans say Trump's tariffs decreased prices, and 12% say they had no effect
- 47% of Americans say tariffs on foreign goods imported into the U.S. should be decreased, more than the 13% who say they should be increased or the 24% who say they should be kept the same
- 10% or fewer of each of Democrats, Independents, and non-MAGA Republicans want tariffs increased
- 35% of MAGA Republicans want tariffs increased, and only 7% of them want tariffs decreased
- Americans with college degrees are more likely than those without college degrees to support decreasing tariffs
- That difference in support by education holds among Democrats, Independents, and Republicans, and among people with lower, medium, and higher family incomes
Image: Getty (Alex Wong / Staff)
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