I've been thinking about Trump's tariffs this morning. A 10% across the board tariff isn't the 20% we'd feared, but it's not good, either.
For those unfamiliar with tariffs, they are essentially an 18th-century mercantilist economic policy rooted in the idea that ... 🧵
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For those unfamiliar with tariffs, they are essentially an 18th-century mercantilist economic policy rooted in the idea that ... 🧵
1/7
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International trade is a zero-sum game.
They were largely discredited after the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act deepened the Great Depression, turning a bad recession into a brutal depression.
Thanks to Smoot-Hawley, both liberal and conservative economists turned against ...
tariffs, preferring free trade agreements.
A smarter policy would be to partner with the UK, Canada and the British Commonwealth to create a global trading block.
Trade agreements with Latin America have also benefited both sides. (And if you want to humanely reduce the number of migrants ...
the best way is to promote economic growth in Latin America.)
https://blogs.iadb.org/integration-trade/en/five-reasons-why-trade-agreements-in-latin-america-and-the-caribbean-matter/
So, if you are still with me, I hope this post explains why tariffs are so bad -- they discourage trade, they make everyone poorer, they hurt jobs, they stifle growth and innovation.
Only someone who sees the world purely as "us vs them" would admire tariffs.
Only someone who has a very limited, defensive, defeatist worldview would admire tariffs.
I can't imagine many of Trump's voters actually wanted these tariffs – and those that did don't understand the danger they pose.
My only solace here is my confidence that they will bring about his ...
political demise more quickly. As Smoot-Hawley did for Hoover.
#Trump #tariffs #trade