The Logical Contradictions of Trump’s Case for Tariffs
Tariffs “will always be the best way to max out our economic power,” President Donald Trump declared during his first term, predicting that his trade war would “MAKE AMERICA RICH AGAIN.” Not rich enough, apparently, because Trump is still touting the magic of tariffs, which he says will “pay off our debt” and “MAKE AMERICA WEALTHY AGAIN!”
Judging from the dizzying array of tariffs that Trump has imposed this time around, he believes what he says. But his faith is rooted in claims that are logically inconsistent as well as economically implausible.
Trump argues that tariffs will stimulate the U.S. economy by boosting domestic production, which is possible only if tariffs make imports more expensive. Yet Trump is loath to admit that tariffs collected from importers translate into higher prices for U.S. businesses and consumers.
“China is eating the Tariffs,” Trump claimed during his first trade war [the tweet that this link takes me to doesn’t have this quote, please update]. The upshot, he said, was that “cost increases have thus far been almost unnoticeable.” If so, there was little reason to expect that tariffs would help U.S. companies at the expense of their foreign competitors.
Trump is still pushing these contradictory claims. The White House claims tariffs “do not raise prices” yet somehow “create new incentives for US consumers to buy US-made products.”
During a recent interview, by contrast, Trump admitted that his 25 percent tariff on imported cars might make them more expensive. “I couldn’t care less if they raise prices,” he said, “because people are going to start buying American-made cars.”
Even that concession was misleading, be
Article from Reason.com
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