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In short: tariffs are a tax. They are a regressive, consumption tax, meaning that they hit everyone at the same rate. That means as a percent of income, it hits working people harder than rich people. And, they’re inflationary. Tariffs increase the price of imported goods and incentivize companies to increase prices of domestic goods. They’re generally good for a few select businesses and bad for consumers. Free trade is the foundation of capitalism, it's frustrating seeing folks gleefully accepting the privilege of paying more so they can pay for billionaires' tax cuts. Even more frustrating is, prices will never go down--they raised because of the pandemic (demand, existing tariffs), then raised because of post-pandemic conditions (supply chain, inflation), now they're going to increase even more (increased tariffs). And for absolutely nothing.

Coal is hot and going higher in terms of demand and production. Coal is needed to produce electricity. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/investing/2024/12/18/coal-demand-to-continue-hitting-records-through-2027-iea-says/ (International Energy Agency)" As can be seen above, the IEA keeps shifting its expected demand schedule for coal to a higher level, no surprise. "Global demand for coal is set to hit fresh records every year through at least 2027, International Energy Agency data show, overturning a previous estimate that it peaked last year and highlighting the challenges to limiting emissions that cause global warming. The latest forecast from the IEA sees demand for coal rising to nearly 8.9 billion tons by 2027, about 1% higher than 2024 levels. That overwrites last year’s estimate that coal demand would begin a steady decline this decade. The reality could surpass the current estimate, as demand has consistently eclipsed the IEA’s predictions in recent years. That’s a blow to world leaders who pronounced the end of coal was in sight at climate talks in Glasgow three years ago. Even as developed nations use less of the fossil fuel, ever increasing demand elsewhere, particularly in China, means coal remains a cheap source of energy..."