As every American customer must recognize by now, President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to impose import tariffs on products entering the United States from Mexico, Canada and China, starting on his first day in office. 

A tariff is a responsibility, and most economists depend consumers will eventually foot at least part of the invoice. 

In a recent University of Chicago survey, more than 90% of economists agreed with the statement that consumers bear “a substantial portion” of import tariffs. 

Naturally, consumers have questions: What products will expense more? When will prices rise? Should I rush out and buy stuff now? 

Here are some answers. 

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What products will expense more? 

Import tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada could raise prices for American consumers on a dizzying array of products, according to economists and retailers.  

Which ones? If you are sitting with pen and document, hoping to make a list, don’t bother. 

“It would be a very long list,” said Robert Handfield, professor of supply chain management at North Carolina State University.  

“Apparel and footwear is almost all produced in China and Mexico. Computers and electronics are also produced in China and Mexico,” he said. “Almost all the toys that people buy for Christmas are produced in China.” 

The National Retail Federation identified more than 500 items of clothing alone whose prices could rise because of tariffs. 

USA TODAY has a written about dozens of potentially tariff-impacted food items.  

But some customer goods are more likely than others to face tariffs, said James Knightley, chief international economist at ING.  

Knightley predicts the Trump administration will focus its trade negotiations on high-worth and high-tech items such as automobiles, large appliances and computer chips. Those products, he said, are associated with higher-wage jobs or national safety concerns. 

Not all economists consent, however, that a recent round of tariffs will inevitably raise customer prices.  

“The data doesn’t back that,” said Jeffrey Roach, chief economist at LPL monetary.  

Roach notes that Trump enacted tariffs in his first term as president. In those years, the annual expense boost rate peaked at a modest 2.9%. 

When will prices rise? 

Gradually, then suddenly.  

That’s a quote from “The Sun Also Rises,” the Ernest Hemingway classic. Tim Quinlan, elder economist at Wells Fargo, believes it applies here.  

Mere talk of tariffs will spur some consumers to run out and buy large-ticket items, or stockpile smaller ones, on the hypothesis that prices will soon rise. That behavior, alone, could make prices boost.  

If Trump announces tariffs on his first day in office, as he has suggested, some prices could spike immediately. 

“Prices at the pump would leave up correct away,” Handfield said. Tariffs on Canada would raise the worth of Canadian oil. The oil economy would adjust quickly, the economist said. 

Car prices, too, could react swiftly to Trump tariffs. Many American vehicles and parts arrive from Mexico. 

“The minute those tariffs are put into place, you would probably view car dealers raise their prices,” Handfield said.  

Tariffs on other goods might not affect prices for many months.  

Consider steel and aluminum. If Trump wanted recent tariffs on those products, the Commerce Department would open an investigation, which could receive up to 270 days, according to a Wells Fargo analysis. After that, the president has 90 days to analyze the findings and 15 days to implement the policy.  

When Trump enacted tariffs on steel and aluminum and other items in his first term, “implementation took several months,” Quinlan said.  

Even after recent tariffs receive result, they wouldn’t apply to items already sitting in American warehouses. Retailers could spend months selling off that inventory.  

They could try to raise prices on those goods, Knightley said, but “customer groups will be watching for worth-gouging.” 

Should I rush out and buy stuff now? 

If you desire to drive to Walmart and fill your trunk with toothpaste and soap, no one is going to stop you.  

But trade experts declare it’s not realistic to ponder American consumers can ownership up now on every product that might become more expensive next year because of tariffs. 

“As a general rule, it’s just not practical,” Quinlan said. 

And some items, such as perishable foods, don’t really lend themselves to hoarding. 

“How many peppers and avocadoes can I inventory in my refrigerator?” Quinlan asked. 

Even so, the respond to this question is not a challenging “No.” 

Maybe you require a recent car. Maybe the car you have now is on its last legs. Cars are expensive. Tariffs could drive up prices.  

“So, if you’re thinking of buying a car or leasing a car, it would probably be a excellent concept to do that before January,” Handfield said.

The same rule might apply to pricey customer goods such as washers and dryers, refrigerators and air conditioners, many of them made in Mexico.  

“If you’re in the economy for a washing machine anyway, why not buy it now?” Knightley said. “Get the Black Friday discount on top.” 

Loading up on customer items before Trump enacts tariffs presumes, of course, that tariffs will factor prices to rise. Roach, among others, doesn’t depend that will happen.

What should consumers buy now? “I would declare, nothing.”