Tariffs on women’s clothes are, on average, higher than tariffs on men’s clothes.
Kayla is correct to note that a decline in overall public safety harms women more than men. She is also correct that a lot of “pink tax” talking points have more to do with consumer choices than with any kind of actual tax.
But there is one real pink tax the government levies: Tariffs on women’s clothes are, on average, higher than tariffs on men’s clothes.
Research from Ed Gresser and Elaine Wei of the Progressive Policy Institute late last year found that the average tariff rate on women’s clothing is 16.7 percent, compared to 13.6 percent for men’s clothing. Breaking it down into different categories, they found:
- Women’s overcoats have an average tariff rate of 13.7 percent, compared to 12.5 percent for men’s overcoats
- Women’s suits have an average tariff rate of 15.1 percent, compared to 13.3 percent for men’s suits
- Women’s shirts have an average tariff rate of 19.7 percent, compared to 17 percent for men’s shirts
- Women’s underwear has an average tariff rate of 12.8 percent, compared to 8.6 percent for men’s underwear
Clothing is the only part of the U.S. tariff system that discriminates by gender, Gresser and Wei wrote. Tariffs affect most clothing purchases because 96 percent of American clothing is imported, and 90 percent of clothing imports come from countries with which the U.S. does not have a free-trade agreement.
Estimates vary, but Gresser and Wei wrote that clothing tariffs cost women at least $2 billion per year more than men. That’s about $15 per adult woman per year. That’s not a ton, but it’s a real pink tax, and there’s no reason for it.
This month, Representatives Lizzie Fletcher (D., Texas) and Brittany Pettersen (D., Colo.) introduced the Pink Tariffs Study Act. “No systematic review of the tariff system has been done in 70 years, despite notable policy anomalies, ranging from higher tariffs on women’s clothing than on men’s, to higher rates on cheap steel spoons than on sterling silver,” Gresser noted on Wednesday, in a statement about the bill. “It’s far past time for policymakers to correct unequal tariff taxation on American women.”
Congress should go further than merely studying the tariff schedule. A Pink Tariffs Repeal Act would likely be bipartisan, and it could be a starting point for more reform. There’s a lot of sludge in the 4,000+ page Harmonized Tariff Schedule that could be cleaned up by a congressional committee doing the ordinary work of legislating, but Congress has effectively given its tariff powers over to the executive branch. The very first item of Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution is abundantly clear: “Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises.” It should reassert that authority to cut these taxes on Americans.