New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- A study by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy has corroborated what economists had been shouting out loud but US President Donald Trump chose not to hear: that tariffs are effectively a consumption tax on one's own people.

The Germany-based institute examined US imports worth about $4 trillion to conclude that as much as 96% of the $200 billion of additional revenue the US generated last year was yanked out from the pockets of US consumers-only 4% of the burden was borne by exporters.

It also analysed data of Indian exporters to see how they responded. It found that they cut shipment volumes but not the price of their goods, showing that they chose to protect their margins.

Some of the volume losses would ha...