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Tariffs

This Is Why Trump’s Tariffs Will Fail

April 5, 2025 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , , , , ,
In his first term as president of the United States, Donald Trump launched a trade war against China. In his second term, he has expanded that trade war to many countries around the world. In a ceremony outside the White House on April 2, which the US president dubbed “Liberation Day”, Trump announced sweeping new tariffs on dozens of countries, including high taxes on imports from top US trading partners: 54% on China, 46% on Vietnam, 25% on South Korea, 24% on Japan, and 20% on the European Union. Trump falsely claimed that these tariffs were “reciprocal”, but they were actually unilateral.

Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Reverse Globalization

April 5, 2025 Jon Jeter, Black Agenda Report. , , ,
While it was not technically a tariff, the 1808 law prohibiting the importation of enslaved people to the U.S. from Africa and the Caribbean had the same effect, protecting domestic industries—in this case the breeding of the enslaved for commercial trade—from foreign competitors. For everyone but the enslaved of course, the ban worked like a charm, raising significantly the sale price that slaveholders could demand for a bondswoman or bondsman. In the half-century that followed the embargo on international slave trafficking, the number of enslaved in the U.S. quadrupled from one to four million by the time the first shots of the Civil War were fired at Fort Sumter in 1861.

‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs Will Concentrate Wealth Even More

April 5, 2025 Omar Ocampo, Inequality.org. , , ,
Trump’s trade policies have been wildly unpredictable in the first two months of his second presidency. Tariff deadlines have come and been delayed with no rhyme or reason, leaving cross-border trade in the lurch. Such volatility was a nightmare for investors in the top one percent, but they are now given some clarity thanks to the inauguration of Trump’s so-called “Liberation Day” — a comprehensive set of retaliatory tariffs imposed on all imported products from trading partners who allegedly disadvantage US exports through their own regulatory regime.

Jeffrey Sachs: Trump’s Impoverishing Tariffs

April 3, 2025 Jeffrey D. Sachs, Consortium News. , , ,
U.S. President Donald Trump is trashing the world trade system over a basic economic fallacy. He wrongly claims that America’s trade deficit is caused by the rest of the world ripping off the U.S., repeatedly stating things such as, “Over the decades, they ripped us off like no country has ever been ripped off in history…” Trump aims to close the trade deficit by imposing tariffs, thereby impeding imports and restoring trade balance (or inducing other countries to end their rip-offs of America). Yet Trump’s tariffs will not close the trade deficit but will instead impoverish Americans and harm the rest of the world.

Trump Takes Aim At Globalization On ‘Liberation Day’

April 3, 2025 Jimena Vergara, Left Voice. , , ,
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will impose a 10 percent tariff on all imports and additional, much higher rates for specific nations, in what he called “Liberation Day” for U.S. trade policy.  The universal baseline tariff will begin on April 5 and the added penalties will take effect by April 9. The countries being specifically targeted for being “unfair trade partners” are China (which is being hit with a 34 percent tariff), Japan (24 percent), and the nations included in the European Union (20 percent). There is increasing fear among sectors of the American ruling class and some think tanks that Trump’s tariffs are fueling geopolitical shifts and further jeopardizing U.S. hegemony.

Setting The Pace In Auto: Thinking Bigger Than Tariffs

March 31, 2025 Andrew Elrod, Labor Notes. , , , , , ,
President Donald Trump’s infatuation with tariffs dates back to the 1980s, when he first said tariff was “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” On March 26 he announced “a 25 percent tariff on all cars not made in the U.S.,” but exempted auto parts that comply with the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the successor to NAFTA. For those parts, and for the 25 percent of U.S.-sold vehicles that are assembled in Mexico and Canada, the tariffs will be applied partially at an undisclosed date to only the non-U.S. part of the vehicle’s value. Essentially, auto manufacturing is already so integrated across North America that the administration has left carve-outs for Mexico and Canada.

Fake ‘Populism’: Trump’s Billionaire Administration Serves The Rich

March 30, 2025 Ben Norton, Geopolitical Economy. , , , , , ,
When Donald Trump campaigned to be US president in 2024, he promised he would help working-class Americans. He even did a photo op at a McDonald’s, pretending to be a fast food worker. When he returned to the White House, however, Trump made it clear that his policies would be serving a small handful of billionaire oligarchs, not the majority of the country. Trump appointed 13 billionaires as top officials in his administration. As Public Citizen reported, this means that the Trump administration represents not just the 1% richest Americans, but the 0.0001%.

Trump Has Ignited A Wave Of Economic Defiance In Canada

March 26, 2025 Aparajita Ghosh, Waging Nonviolence. , , , ,
The relationship between Canada and the United States, once a symbol of economic interdependence and diplomatic cooperation, now stands at a crossroads. The recent imposition of sweeping 25 percent tariffs on Canadian exports by U.S. President Donald Trump has ignited a wave of resistance in Canada. But beyond the sharp exchanges of political rhetoric and retaliatory measures, a quieter but resolute movement is emerging — one that is reshaping Canadian consumer behavior, business practices and national identity. In response, former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau swiftly retaliated with tariffs on $20.8 billion worth of American goods, signaling a sharp departure from Canada’s traditionally measured approach to trade disputes.

China Could Quickly Strangle American Tech With Metals Cutoff

March 10, 2025 Kurt Cobb, Resilience. , , , , , , ,
There’s no telling exactly where the Trump administration’s trade war is going as the president authorizes tariffs and then quickly suspends them, only to authorize them again and suspend them again or provide waivers for certain industries. While tariffs on narrowly defined categories of goods to guard against unfair competition may be workable, the administration’s shotgun approach to tariffs risks a cutoff of strategic minerals that could strangle America’s tech industry. As I’ve written before, the United States is dangerously dependent on other countries for a wide-ranging list of metals and, in some cases, completely dependent.

Trump’s Trade War Escalates, Canada Responds With Retaliatory Tariffs

March 6, 2025 Natalia Marques, People's Dispatch. , , , , , , , ,
Trump’s trade war against the US’s neighbors Mexico and Canada, as well as China, continues with sweeping tariffs on the three countries going into effect just after midnight on Tuesday, March 4. A 25% tariff was added on all imports from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 10% tariff on imports from China. On March 5, Trump granted a one-month exemption on imports from Mexico and Canada for US automakers, following a conversation with the three largest auto manufacturers in the country: Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis, according to an announcement by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. Other levies remain in place.

Trump 2.0: The View From China

March 5, 2025 Wang Wen, People's Dispatch. , , ,
Donald Trump’s second term may not be all bad for all nations, especially China. According to many Chinese internet users, Trump’s policies have unwittingly strengthened their country. This is why he has earned the popular nickname “Chuan Jianguo,” which means “Make China Great.” Trump’s first term made at least three notable contributions to China’s rise: First, his presidency shattered the image of the US as a paragon of democracy for many Chinese, revealing political chaos and deep societal divisions in the US. For decades, some Chinese idealized the United States as a “beautiful country”: the literal translation of the Chinese name for the US.

Here’s How To Buy Canadian And Fight Trump Tariffs

March 5, 2025 Melise Panetta, The Tyee. , , ,
Escalating trade tensions between Canada and the United States have ignited a new wave of Canadian patriotism, with consumers consciously choosing made-in-Canada products as an act of economic self-preservation and national pride. U.S. President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on most Canadian and Mexican goods on Tuesday. This, along with Trump’s calls to make Canada the 51st U.S. state, has prompted Canadians to rally around the so-called “Buy Canadian” movement. Recent research indicates a significant number of Canadians are now showing a strong preference for domestic products, with many willing to modify their purchasing behaviours.

Trump Says 25% Tariffs On Canada, Mexico Will Take Effect On Tuesday

March 4, 2025 Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com. , , , , ,
President Trump has said that the US will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico on Tuesday, saying there’s “no room left” for the two countries to avoid the measures. Trump signed an executive order on February 1 to impose the 25% tariffs on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada with a carve-out for Canadian oil, which will be hit with a 10% tariff. Trump paused the tariffs for 30 days after speaking with the leaders of Canada and Mexico, who both pledged to work to stem the flow of fentanyl and migrants entering the US. But Trump said on Monday that drugs were still “pouring into our Country from Mexico and Canada at very high and unacceptable levels.”

Trump Provides An Opportunity To Change The Way We Look At Food

February 23, 2025 Lois Ross, Rabble. , , , , ,
As the political and economic instability created by the goings-on south of the border continue, it is time for all of us to recall how we arrived at this juncture. It is also time to acknowledge that, despite common belief, there has never really been “free” trade with the United States, but rather only a series of measures that have encouraged the unhealthy integration of the Canadian economy into that of our southern neighbours and the ensuing enrichment and concentration of wealth in the hands of transnational corporate giants. Throughout these so-called free trade agreements (FTA, FTAA, NAFTA, CUSMA) the US has often filed unfair trade practice complaints that have led to international trade dispute panels.

Blocked Nippon Deal Is Lesson On Tariffs: Workers Need A Say

February 19, 2025 Jenny Brown, Labor Notes. , , ,
The business press howled in January when outgoing President Joe Biden blocked Japanese steel giant Nippon from buying U.S. Steel. The Steelworkers (USW) had strongly opposed the deal. But Nippon’s promises to invest, and U.S. Steel’s threats to close plants, led some members and local union officials to support it. As a result, the press portrayed the disagreement as “union bosses” versus the rank and file. In fact, most workers were skeptical and the union had good reasons to oppose the takeover. The Trump administration has imposed 25 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, to start March 4.
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