Trump’s Election Interference Tariff
Like a child with his new favorite toy at Christmas, President Trump is using tariff taxes not only to attempt to centrally plan the pricing of thousands of goods and services in the economy, but also to engage in election interference in other countries. The latter statement refers to how he recently put the government of Brazil on notice that 50 percent tariff taxes would be imposed on Brazilian imports to the U.S. unless it dropped the legal case against the former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. I bet you thought that Donald Trump was against one country interfering with the electoral politics of another country, didn’t you?
With this threat President Trump is essentially saying, “We will punish American consumers with higher prices on goods imported from Brazil unless you run your legal system the way I, Donald Trump, want you to run it.” No skin off Donald Trump’s back, only hapless American consumers and tariff taxpayers. Imagine if say, Japan or Canada made similar threats of quadrupling tariff taxes on American imports into their countries unless
Article from LewRockwell
LewRockwell.com is a libertarian website that publishes articles, essays, and blog posts advocating for minimal government, free markets, and individual liberty. The site was founded by Lew Rockwell, an American libertarian political commentator, activist, and former congressional staffer. The website often features content that is critical of mainstream politics, state intervention, and foreign policy, among other topics. It is a platform frequently used to disseminate Austrian economics, a school of economic thought that is popular among some libertarians.
