When President Donald Trump reentered office in 2025, he inherited a strong economy partly fueled by the possibility of lower taxes on capital, fewer overbearing regulations, energy abundance, and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Instead of stewarding that prosperity and optimism, Trump quickly upended it through a reckless love affair with tariffs and a […]
Tariffs make it more expensive to bring goods into the United States, and one of the primary consequences of artificially inflating the cost of imports is that you get less of them. Possibly a lot less. American retailers are bracing for supply chain disruptions that could lead to price hikes and shortages as soon as […]
History may not perfectly repeat itself, but it often rhymes. Two protectionist episodes—the infamous Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930 and the Trump-era tariffs of today—offer a striking example. Both emerged from economic nostalgia and fear of change. Both were politically attractive. And both were costly, backward-looking mistakes that undermined the economies they were meant to […]
Since his second term began, President Donald Trump has imposed double-digit tariffs on nearly every nation, sending markets into turmoil. Trump said it was necessary, posting in all caps on Truth Social, “Will there be some pain? Yes, maybe (and maybe not!).” But “it will all be worth the price that must be paid.” In […]
Parody of Fifty Fifty’s “Cupid,” written and performed by Remy. Mastering and background vocals by Ben Karlstrom. LYRICS: A wine maker from an early age, They call me the Chris Brown of grapes. James Suckling thinks I’m just OK. (I hate this white, so 95.) I’m feeling homely. Why’s their wine industry thriving? Ours is […]
The Trump administration believes that high tariffs will boost the prospects of American manufacturing, but one iconic truck company is now preparing to lay off hundreds of workers—because of the tariffs. For more than a century, the Mack Trucks plant on the outskirts of Allentown, Pennsylvania, has been churning out heavy equipment to haul stuff […]
Today’s guest is Harvard economist Jason Furman, who was one of former President Barack Obama’s chief economic advisers and an architect of the Affordable Care Act. These days, he’s in the news for his withering critique of former President Joe Biden’s dismal economic record and two-fisted attacks on President Donald Trump’s trade policy. We talk about Furman’s defense […]
“To date nothing has been done,” federal Judge Paula Xinis told a lawyer with the Department of Justice (DOJ), rebuking them, referring to the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case. “Nothing.” The Supreme Court issued an unsigned decision this past Thursday instructing the Trump administration to facilitate the Salvadoran man’s return to the United States. “The order properly […]
Trump’s exceptions keep getting reversed: President Donald Trump just can’t make up his mind about which Chinese products will have tariffs applied to them upon crossing our borders. All last week, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war escalation. On Friday, the Trump administration made tariff exceptions (but don’t call […]
If you’re keeping track—and economists are making their best efforts—President Donald Trump’s trade war with the entire planet is running up quite a price tag. Even with a 90-day pause on some tariffs (except for China), the imposition or even just the threat of import taxes on goods from around the world and the inevitable […]