In President Donald Trump's telling, tariffs are the political equivalent of duct tape: you can use them to fix anything. For example, they're a negotiating tool — he used the threat of tariffs to pressure Canada and Mexico to implement border policies he liked. He also sees tariffs as a revenue source that might help offset his proposed $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and as a shield to protect American manufacturing jobs from overseas competition.With all of these potentially conflicting aims, and with another major round of tariffs expected to be announced on Wednesday, what is the strategy behind them?Rana Foroohar, a Financial Times columnist and the author of Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World, says they're an "experiment" that could lead to a big change in the way the global economy works.For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.Email us at [email protected] more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
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President Trump has billed Wednesday as a pivotal moment in his administration. We have Liberation Day, as you know, on April 2nd. This is the day we will find out what is included in his latest package of tariffs, which he has called the big one.
I call it a lot of different names, but it's really, in a sense, it's a rebirth of a country.
The White House says the tariffs will take effect immediately. These would be on top of the tariffs that President Trump has already announced, which, if you have lost track by now, include a 25 percent tariff on imported cars and across the board, 20 percent tariff on products coming from China and up to 25 percent tariffs on some goods from Canada and Mexico.
Trump loves these tariffs, but many economists do not. Like Mark Zandi, who told NPR on Tuesday that the U.S. is in a trade war.
We're raising tariffs on our trading partners. They're responding with tariffs on our products. We're lobbing nasty rhetoric at them. They're doing the same to us.
Zandi says the risk of a recession is uncomfortably high.
The economic damage so far has been modest. But with each passing day that the war continues, the damage is starting to mount.
The Trump administration has acknowledged that there may be some negative short-term impact. They call it a detox period or a disturbance. But Trump says tariffs will ultimately reshape the economy for the better. Or as he put it in his joint address to Congress.
Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening and it will happen rather quickly. Consider this.
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