Tariffs are simply a tax which gets passed on to - and is paid for - by our consumers (population) through higher prices on imports.
By choosing which industries to protect, politicians get yet another chance to be "relevant" - and to pick winners. Often, for a price. Protected industries will end up becoming uncompetitive, only able to survive for as long as the government keeps ripping off the consumers on imports.
Our corporations, through outsourcing their manufacturing, have trained foreign workers - who are now able to compete with us. So, we, in turn, must become competitive against them - through skills, productivity, automatization, deregulation, etc.
Protectionism will not work - the train already left the station, and we would be simply left behind. It's bigger than any government. I'm not exactly certain where Trump stands on this matter, but to the extent that he intends to rely on protectionist tariffs, he is making a mistake. |
