U.S. consumer prices continued to climb in July, rising 2.7% from a year earlier, as President Donald Trump’s broad tariffs on imported goods worked their way through store shelves, according to Labor Department figures cited by NPR. Core inflation, which strips out food and energy, edged up to 3.1%, its highest pace this year. Since April, the administration has imposed duties of 10% to 30% on almost all imports, lifting the average tariff rate to roughly 18%. The levies are hitting back-to-school budgets particularly hard. Retailers and lawmakers report sharp increases in classroom staples, with the price of index cards up 42.6%, notebooks 17%, and binders 13% compared with last year. Analysts warn that footwear, electronics and other items could see similar jumps as merchants pass along higher import costs. Retail outlets say families are shopping weeks earlier than usual to avoid further mark-ups, a shift highlighted by coverage in the Washington Times and Canada’s CP24. Some chains are already layering price increases onto clothing and technology, a trend economists say could keep near-term inflation pressures elevated even if headline energy prices ease. The sticker shock has sparked a fresh political backlash. More than a dozen Democratic members of Congress on Wednesday labeled the tariffs a "hidden tax" on working families and urged bipartisan legislation to roll them back. They argued the duties undermine the administration’s pledge to make life more affordable and risk eroding consumer spending as the school year begins.