{"id":2392600,"date":"2025-01-20T08:40:58","date_gmt":"2025-01-20T13:40:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-critics-only-oppose-his-tariffs-because-they-oppose-him\/"},"modified":"2025-01-20T08:49:37","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T13:49:37","slug":"trumps-critics-only-oppose-his-tariffs-because-they-oppose-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trumps-critics-only-oppose-his-tariffs-because-they-oppose-him\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump&#8217;s Critics Only Oppose His Tariffs Because They Oppose Him"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrumps-critics-only-oppose-his-tariffs-because-they-oppose-him%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2392600&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The text discusses the expected economic\u200c policies of Donald\u200c Trump upon taking office, \u2062specifically regarding tariffs. It argues that imposing tariffs is not a\u200c novel or irresponsible move, as they have historically been a primary \u200crevenue source\u2062 for the U.S.\u200d until the 20th century. Current tariffs exist on various <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/chipotle-a-case-study-in-minimum-wage-hikes\/\" title=\"Chipotle: A Case Study In Minimum Wage Hikes\">imported goods<\/a>, \u2063and many imported \u2063industrial products already enter \u2062the U.S. duty-free. The \u2064article\u200d notes \u2063that \u200bthe Biden administration maintained Trump-era \u2064tariffs and emphasizes that tariffs are not\u200d inherently inflationary. It explains\u200c that inflation is primarily driven by monetary issues\u2063 rather than tariffs and highlights that tariffs can serve as a \u200cconsumption tax that benefits the\u200b economy when production and \u200dinvestment taxes are concurrently lowered.<\/p>\n<p>The piece also mentions that tariffs can be aimed at \u200dencouraging certain behaviors \u200cfrom foreign countries, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/its-official-50-texas-counties-declare-border-invasion-due-to-bidens-policies\/\" title=\"50 Texas counties declare border &#039;invasion&#039; due to Biden&#039;s policies, confirmed\">addressing\u2063 illegal immigration<\/a>. While acknowledging\u2062 the theoretical appeal of free trade, the\u2064 text argues that \u200bin\u2062 practice,\u2062 true\u200c free trade \u200cdoes \u2062not\u2062 exist currently due to various trade \u200dbarriers. Therefore, it \u2063suggests that tariffs \u200bcould potentially\u200b be a means to \u200dreduce these barriers and \u2064improve trade outcomes for the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>the essay\u2063 asserts \u2063the importance of considering the political economy \u2062relationship, as neglecting economic interests\u200b can lead to public discontent, especially in light \u2063of challenges like high \u200binflation. It emphasizes\u200d the need\u2063 for a balanced approach to trade policies\u2064 that protect American jobs and industries while\u200c pursuing strategic foreign relations.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>When Donald Trump takes office, expect one of his first&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/business\/2025\/01\/06\/trump-tariff-economy-trade\/?utm_campaign=wp_post_most&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F4045a0b%2F677c0e25543a1d3e1e59920d%2F6606c379b906a33aaeed928c%2F13%2F58%2F677c0e25543a1d3e1e59920d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">acts<\/a>&nbsp;to be imposing tariffs.&nbsp;Despite his critics&rsquo; charges, tariffs are hardly unprecedented or responsible for many of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.americanprogress.org\/article\/trumps-tariffs-would-raise-prices-harm-u-s-workers-and-make-it-harder-to-solve-global-problems\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">consequences<\/a> for which they are blamed.<\/p>\n<p>On Jan. 15, Trump&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxbusiness.com\/politics\/trump-announces-new-external-revenue-service-collect-foreign-money\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote<\/a>&nbsp;on Truth Social, &ldquo;I am today announcing that I will create the EXTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE to collect our Tariffs, Duties, and all Revenue that come from Foreign sources.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>It is time to set the record straight on Trump and tariffs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Except for the Civil War income tax&rsquo;s life, tariffs were America&rsquo;s primary&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www2.census.gov\/library\/publications\/1975\/compendia\/hist_stats_colonial-1970\/hist_stats_colonial-1970p2-chY.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">revenue source<\/a>&nbsp;until well into the 20<sup>th<\/sup>&nbsp;century. They didn&rsquo;t just disappear once overtaken by taxes &mdash; they have been a constant revenue source since. <\/p>\n<p>Tariffs already exist on many goods coming into the U.S., including anything that doesn&rsquo;t come from the 20 countries we have trade&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/trade-agreements\/free-trade-agreements#:~:text=The%20United%20States%20has%20comprehensive,in%20force%20with%2020%20countries.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">treaties<\/a>&nbsp;with. America has&nbsp;a trade-weighted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/issue-areas\/industry-manufacturing\/industrial-tariffs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">average import tariff rate<\/a>&nbsp;of 2.0 percent on industrial goods. With&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/issue-areas\/industry-manufacturing\/industrial-tariffs\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">half<\/a>&nbsp;of all America&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">imported industrial goods entering duty-free<\/a>, many goods face tariff rates above 2 percent.<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;Biden administration didn&rsquo;t revoke Trump&rsquo;s China tariffs; they let these&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2024\/05\/15\/biden-tariff-reaction-trump-00158043\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stand<\/a>&nbsp;untouched for four years. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tariffs are not inflationary: inflation is a monetary phenomenon &mdash; too much government-made money chasing too few goods &mdash; as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/miltonfriedman.hoover.org\/internal\/media\/dispatcher\/271092\/full\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Milton Friedman<\/a>&nbsp;argued decades ago.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And tariffs&nbsp;won&rsquo;t increase prices by the same percentage increase of an imposed tariff.&nbsp;This would only occur in the case of a product with&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/e\/inelastic.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inelastic demand<\/a>&nbsp;(i.e., demand not falling with price increases) or no&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/s\/substitute.asp#:~:text=A%20substitute%2C%20or%20substitutable%20good,used%20in%20place%20of%20another.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">substitutes<\/a>&nbsp;(i.e., no cheaper comparable products that could take its place).<\/p>\n<p>As a consumption tax, tariffs are a more economically beneficial way to tax than America&rsquo;s current taxes on production and investment (income, payroll, corporate, or capital gains).&nbsp;Of course, this beneficial effect only occurs if taxes on production and investment are lowered, and Trump has called for&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/taxfoundation.org\/research\/all\/federal\/donald-trump-tax-plan-2024\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">lowering taxes<\/a>&nbsp;in these areas.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Neglected in the discussion of Trump tariffs is their explicit intention to press targeted countries to undertake certain desired behaviors (such as reducing&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.huffpost.com\/entry\/trump-mexico-tariff-25-percent_n_6728fe8ce4b0266a34583f73\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">illegal immigration<\/a>&nbsp;in the case of Mexico &mdash; something already having an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/trump-says-mexico-stop-flow-migrants-after-speaking-mexican-president-following-tariff-threats\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">impact<\/a>).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;Yes, free trade is optimal.&nbsp;We all understand British economist David Ricardo&rsquo;s theory of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/money\/comparative-advantage\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">comparative advantage<\/a>.&nbsp;However, free trade does not exist.&nbsp;Not here and certainly not abroad, where U.S. exports often face&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ustr.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2023-03\/2023%20NTE%20Report.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">higher tariff rates<\/a>&nbsp;than these countries&rsquo; imports face from the U.S. Free trade is great in theory, but it is time the U.S. sought lower trade barriers for its exports in practice. Tariffs can be a means to this end. And without them, don&rsquo;t expect this to come, because thus far it hasn&rsquo;t.<\/p>\n<p>In its classical form, &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.investopedia.com\/terms\/p\/political-economy.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">political economy<\/a>&rdquo; was the study of economics and government.&nbsp;Today, we need to remember the linkage. We cannot expect Americans to support political outcomes that disregard their economic welfare.&nbsp;Doubters should ask the Biden-Harris administration how&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/consumer-prices-inflation-c1bfd93ed1719cf0135420f4fd0270f9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">historically high inflation<\/a>&nbsp;worked out for them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Americans are understandably dubious about trade outcomes that hollow out our industries and eliminate their jobs and the geopolitical relationships where politicians trade&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/research\/2022\/04\/us-strategy-and-economic-statecraft-understanding-the-tradeoffs?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">market access<\/a>&nbsp;for other strategic interests.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There are also security interests in play with trade.&nbsp;Everyone acknowledges that China has been engaged in a conflict with the West via its&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/ndupress.ndu.edu\/Media\/News\/News-Article-View\/Article\/3680105\/no-limits-the-inside-story-of-chinas-war-with-the-west\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trade policies<\/a>&nbsp;for years.&nbsp;Allowing technologically advanced items to be exported to China, which then uses them to strengthen its hand in its belligerent global goals, is beyond na&iuml;ve; it is&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/nationalsecurity.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/The-National-Security-Threat-of-Chinese-Technological-Innovation.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dangerous<\/a>.&nbsp;The same can be applied to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/homeland.house.gov\/2024\/09\/16\/what-they-are-saying-joint-investigation-finds-potential-chinese-espionage-threats-to-u-s-ports\/#:~:text=%E2%80%9CChinese%20cargo%20cranes%20used%20at,to%20a%20yearlong%20congressional%20investigation.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">imports<\/a>&nbsp;from China that could compromise U.S. security.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The same warnings about China could be applied to other countries &mdash; notably Russia.&nbsp;America has long withheld trade liberalization from nations it deems abhorrent or dangerous &mdash; witness sanctions against&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/usa.usembassy.de\/etexts\/democrac\/56.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">South Africa<\/a>&nbsp;decades ago and sanctions that were rightfully put on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/world-middle-east-48119109\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Iran<\/a>&nbsp;during the Trump administration (only to be&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fdd.org\/analysis\/2024\/04\/15\/how-biden-helps-iran-pay-for-its-terror-by-refusing-to-enforce-current-sanctions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">relaxed<\/a>&nbsp;by the Biden-Harris administration to Israel&rsquo;s, and the world&rsquo;s, detriment).&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Tariffs and trade sanctions are not only invaluable in such circumstances,&nbsp;they are&nbsp;preferable to military engagement.&nbsp;Trade conflict as leverage to make an intermediate point in an increasing conflict is a step most Americans welcome over armed conflict.&nbsp;It also has a long historical precedent: presidents as far back as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.monticello.org\/research-education\/thomas-jefferson-encyclopedia\/embargo-1807\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jefferson<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.battlefields.org\/learn\/articles\/foreign-policy-early-republic\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Madison<\/a>&nbsp;have done likewise.<\/p>\n<p>Much criticism of Trump&rsquo;s tariffs &mdash; both imposed and proposed &mdash; is based on politics and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/theyre-calling-it-the-value-meal-wars-taco-bell-enters-the-fray-with-new-7-deal\/\" title=\"They&#039;re Calling It &#039;The Value Meal Wars&#039;: Taco Bell Enters the Fray with New  Deal\">establishment media&#038;rsquo<\/a>;s opposition to him.&nbsp;As Democrats and the establishment media&rsquo;s silence at the Biden administration&rsquo;s somnambulant&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.csis.org\/analysis\/dont-hold-your-breath-new-democratic-trade-policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">trade policy<\/a>&nbsp;of the last four years demonstrates, Democrats are hardly&nbsp;in a position&nbsp;to call out Trump on trade, and the establishment media is hardly in a position to play the role of unbiased arbitrator.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And,&nbsp;of course,&nbsp;criticism has also risen from those who have benefitted from America&rsquo;s unequal trade relations such as the pallbearers of American manufacturing, who want to continue importing low-cost goods into the U.S. and have no interest in using American workers to produce items for export.<\/p>\n<p>It is premature to criticize Trump&rsquo;s tariffs before we have even seen what they are, on which products they are imposed, and what their ends are. A closer examination shows that critics&rsquo; claims about Trump tariffs are not about the facts behind tariffs, but are all about their opposition to him.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      J.T. Young was a professional staffer in the House and Senate from 1987-2000, served in the Department of Treasury and Office of Management and Budget from 2001-2004, and was director of government relations for a Fortune 20 company from 2004-2023.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When Trump takes office, he will likely impose tariffs. Critics often misplace blame on tariffs, which are not new or solely responsible for various issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2425,"featured_media":2392601,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/athanasios-papazacharias-0J8hoI5aW_Q-unsplash.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[4365,13991,3634],"class_list":["post-2392600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-critics","tag-tariffs","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/athanasios-papazacharias-0J8hoI5aW_Q-unsplash.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2425"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2392600"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2392604,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2392600\/revisions\/2392604"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2392601"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2392600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2392600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2392600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}