Federal Reserve Tasked with Studying Post-2017 Tariff Costs on Consumers and Small Businesses

This bill, the "Protecting Families from Inflation Act," doesn't directly change prices today, but it kicks off an investigation into why things might cost more. It specifically orders the Federal Reserve – the country's central bank – to conduct a detailed study looking at the collective impact of every U.S. tariff put in place since 2017.

Getting the Receipts: What the Fed Will Examine

The core task assigned by Section 2 is straightforward: figure out how these tariffs have affected the prices regular consumers pay for goods and services, and the costs faced by small businesses. Think about the price of imported materials for a local builder, the components in the phone you bought last year, or even certain items on grocery shelves. The study aims to untangle the connection between these trade policies and the bottom line for both households and smaller companies across the country.

The Report Card: Delivering Findings to Congress

Once the study is complete, the Federal Reserve isn't just keeping the info to itself. The bill requires the Fed's Board of Governors to deliver a comprehensive report detailing their findings directly to Congress. They have a deadline: this report must be submitted within 270 days after the Act goes into effect. Essentially, Congress is asking for hard data to better understand the real-world economic consequences of recent tariff policies, potentially shaping future decisions related to trade and inflation.