August 23, 2024: Two-thirds (66%) of voters know what a tariff is. A Scott Rasmussen national survey conducted by RMG Research found that 74% say they know, and 89% of those — or 66% of all voters — correctly described it in response to an open-ended question.
The survey also found that 36% of voters believe that free trade would improve national security, while 17% believe that free trade would actually threaten national security.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on August 12-13, 2024. Fieldwork for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population. The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Scott Rasmussen is the president of RMG Research, Inc. He hosts "The Scott Rasmussen Show" on Merit Street Media Sunday mornings at 10 Eastern.
Survey Questions
Do you know what a tariff is?
- 74%-Yes
- 15%-No
- 10%-Not sure
[Among all voters] In just a few words, please tell me what a tariff is.
- 26%-Not asked, do not know what a tariff is
- 66%-Correct
- 7%-A tax
- 1%-Incorrect
- 0%-No answer
Some people believe that free trade improves national security by building commercial relationships between countries. Others see free trade as a threat to national security. Which comes closer to your view?
- 36%-Improves national security
- 17%-Threatens national security
- 25%-Has no impact on national security
- 23%-Not sure
Scott Rasmussen is founder and president of the Rasmussen Media Group. He is a political analyst, author, public speaker, independent public opinion pollster and a columnist. Read Scott Rasmussen's Reports — More Here.
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