by Rod Williams - In Five Strange Features of this Trade War, by Jeffrey A. Tucker of the American Institute for Economic Research, the author points out these five features:
(1) The economy is strong. Usually, countries foolishly embrace protectionist trade
policies when the economy is in decline. That is not our situation.
(2) There is no end game. How do you stop a war, if you don't know when you have won? What specifically does Trump want? What are the goals?
(3) Tariffs hit inputs not finished goods. This is important. Most of the tariffs we are imposing are on goods that go into making other goods in America. The tariffs will raise the price of goods manufactured in America.
(4) Complaints are all over the map. Trumps justification for this trade war is a shotgun approach and not focused.
(5) It’s Americans who pay. Foreign companies or countries do not pay tariffs. Tariffs are a tax on Americans.I highly recommend this article from a well respected economist. Economist of the left and the right see no logic to the Trump Trade War. There are no defenders of this policy among those who understand economics. Even Trump's cabinet members look pained when they try to defend this policy. This policy is based on raw nationalism. It is based on tribalism more than any economic rationale. For a long time some politicians would pander to protectionist but usually it was Democrats pandering to union voters. Occasionally their campaign rhetoric pandered but their policies promoted trade expansion. Ever since the Great Depression, with few exceptions, Republicans and Democrats have followed a policy of trade expansion. This Trump Trade War can be stopped. Democrats can be depended upon to oppose Trump no matter what he does and Republicans ought to join them because this policy is dangerous and protectionism is contrary to long held Republican advocacy of free trade. The Trump Trade War may lead us into Great Depression II if it is not stopped.
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