If you live in the US, congratulations — you are now a foot soldier in what has been called “the dumbest trade war in history.” And if you live in one of the top three countries that trade most with the US (Canada, Mexico, and China), apologies: you are part of this as well.

Donald Trump loves tariffs despite regularly misrepresenting how they work, and after months of saying he would impose them on goods coming into the US, he made good on his promise this week: there is now an additional 10 percent tax on all products from China. The tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods have been paused for a month, after both countries conceded to certain border measures. (Canada, for its part, apparently agreed to border policies it was already doing.) But we surely have not heard the last of Trump’s favorite trade policy.

There’s a deep misunderstanding of tariffs, in part thanks to Trump’s false claims. Who pays tariffs? What do they actually do? How do they affect consumers? Let’s talk about it.

What’s a tariff, exactly?

Leave the word “tariff” aside for a second and think about it like this: it’s a tax. Specifically, tariffs are a tax set by the government on goo …

Read the full story at The Verge.