If you play hockey, the newest round of the U.S.-Canada trade war might hit closer to home. Hockey sticks and skates are among the hundreds of Canadian products now facing a 50% U.S. tariff.

So, if your next stick costs more, should you send the bill to Canada? Not exactly.

A tariff, in essence, is nothing but a tax imposed on an imported commodity. One of the major misconceptions associated with tariffs is determining who ends up paying them. For instance, when a Canadian firm exports $100 worth of goods to America, and a 50% tariff is imposed on it, it does not mean that the Canadian government gives the American government $50; rather, it is the importer in America who pays this.

However, that doesn’t mean that the store price automatically is going to rise from $100 to $150. Companies can combat this by accepting smaller profits; customers can switch products; exchange rates can change. In the end, though, somebody still bears the cost. Tariffs do not create money out of nowhere. They simply change who pays and who benefits.

As of mid-September, the United States and Canada are moving deeper into a trade fight. In August, President Donald Trump’s administration placed 50% tariffs on more than 550 Canadian products representing about $20 billion in annual imports. The list has included honey, makeup, electronics, video game consoles, ice skates and hockey sticks. Canada responded on Sept. 8 with tariffs on $27.6 billion of American goods, targeting areas such as steel, aluminum, dairy, appliances, agricultural equipment, paper, plastics and electronics.

And the list gets surprisingly specific. Canada’s response even includes a 50% tariff on ferrules used to manufacture pencils — the tiny metal bands that attach erasers to a pencil. Apparently, in this trade war, even fixing your mistakes now costs extra.

What would motivate either nation to even do this? The Trump administration claims that Canada has engaged in discrimination towards American business interests, especially in auto manufacturing, alcoholic beverages and dairy products. Proponents of the action claim that tariffs increase costs, protect American business, promote domestic production and generate revenue for the government. When a product imported from abroad is suddenly expensive, the American product becomes more competitive by default.

This is where the issue of reciprocity emerges, turning the tariff dispute into a trade war. By imposing tariffs on American goods, Canada makes those products more expensive and thus negatively affects American farmers and manufacturers. Additionally, companies dependent on Canadian materials will suffer increased costs. A car can be built in America but include metal and components that have crossed the border multiple times. In a supply chain this connected, defining something as purely American or Canadian gets complicated fast.

Economists therefore tend to be skeptical of the idea that tariffs are free money paid entirely by another country. Federal Reserve economists Sinem Hacioglu Hoke and Leo Feler found that recent tariffs raised retail prices and reduced household purchases, with low-income households carrying what they called a “disproportionate welfare burden.” That does not prove every tariff is harmful, but it shows that the cost does not simply stay at the border.

So, what does any of this have to do with students? Start with hockey. University of Michigan-Flint economics professor Chris Douglas explained that a 50% tariff would not necessarily raise every stick’s price by 50%, especially because Canada supplies only part of the U.S. market. Still, he warned that even a $50 or $100 increase could make an already expensive sport unaffordable for some families. The same logic can apply to electronics, clothing, cars, construction materials and products made with imported parts.

Tariffs can also affect us without appearing on a receipt. If businesses pay more for supplies, they may raise prices, delay hiring or postpone investments. If families spend more on necessities, sports equipment or cars, they have less to spend elsewhere. And if schools or local businesses face higher construction and equipment costs, their budgets feel the pressure too.

This does not mean tariffs are always pointless. They can protect strategically important industries or pressure another country to change a policy. But those possible benefits come with costs, and retaliation can make those costs larger.

So, the next time a politician says another country is paying a tariff, ask three questions: Who writes the check at the border? Who eventually pays the higher price? And what happens when the other country strikes back? Canada may be the target of the tariff, but that does not mean Canadians are the only people paying for it. Some of the bills may end up much closer than Ottawa—possibly at a store, a car dealership, or even a hockey rink near you.