{"id":2398542,"date":"2025-02-04T07:14:02","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T12:14:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-claims-first-win-in-big-tariff-gamble-washington-examiner\/"},"modified":"2025-02-04T07:15:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T12:15:42","slug":"trump-claims-first-win-in-big-tariff-gamble-washington-examiner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-claims-first-win-in-big-tariff-gamble-washington-examiner\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump claims first win in big tariff gamble &#8211; Washington Examiner"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/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%2Ftrump-claims-first-win-in-big-tariff-gamble-washington-examiner%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=2398542&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>In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pressure-mounts-on-sheldon-whitehouse-to-resign-in-shame-over-ties-to-racist-beach-club\/\" title=\"Pressure Mounts on Sheldon Whitehouse To Resign in Shame Over Ties to Racist Beach Club\">recent political developments<\/a>, President Donald \u200cTrump has claimed a notable achievement regarding\u2064 his tariff strategy aimed\u200c at \u200dgarnering concessions from foreign nations. this\u2062 comes \u200cas Canada and \u2063Mexico agreed to pause certain tariffs for a month, prompting Trump to\u200d assert victory. While\u200b this temporary freeze might be seen as \u2064a tactical win, it \u2062raises questions about the implications of \u2064an ongoing\u2062 trade war and the potential for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-see-economic-chaos-as-opportunity-for-more-government-spending-welfare-programs\/\" title=\"Democrats See Economic Chaos As Opportunity For More Government Spending, Welfare Programs\">rising consumer prices<\/a> if tariffs are ultimately imposed.<\/p>\n<p>Historically,Trump has consistently advocated for tariffs as a means \u2063to \u2063combat what he perceives as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of ...\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\">unfair trade practices<\/a> by other \u200bcountries. \u200dhe previously \u2064enacted tariffs on China and renegotiated NAFTA,\u200b which reflects his \u200dlongstanding commitment to protectionist\u2062 trade policies. His \u2063recent proposals include perhaps \u200bsubstantial tariffs\u2063 on Mexican and Canadian\u200b goods, which have garnered\u200d mixed reactions from the public; a\u2064 recent \u200dpoll indicated a majority of voters opposed these\u2063 tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>Moreover, while \u200ctrump&#8217;s governance argues that tariffs can be \u200can effective lever for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-hype-video-it-starts-with-one\/\" title=\"... hype video: The beginning of a legend\">negotiating \u200btrade deals<\/a> and bolstering American manufacturing,\u200d critics highlight the negative effects on consumers, who\u2062 may face increased prices. Labor \u2063unions,\u2063 though supportive of some tariffs to protect jobs, caution against intertwining these measures with immigration and\u200d drug \u200dpolicies.<\/p>\n<p>As the political landscape evolves, the overarching question remains: How\u200c will these tariffs and their potential fallout play into the broader economic narrative, especially\u200c given\u2063 the lingering public concerns over inflation and cost of \u2063living? <\/p>\n<p>Trump&#8217;s handling\u200b of tariffs continues to be a contentious topic, with implications for both domestic \u200cpolicy and international 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<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Trump claims first win in big tariff gamble<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_1974217\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Donald Trump<\/a> claimed vindication of his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/news-restoring-america\/3308334\/what-to-know-about-tariffs-threats-imposed-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">strategy<\/a> to use<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/tariffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> tariffs<\/a> to wring concessions from foreign governments as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/canada\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Canada<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mexico\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Mexico <\/a>reached<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/white-house\/3308904\/trump-deals-mexico-canada-put-trade-war-on-hold\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"> agreements to pause<\/a> such duties for a month.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;Well, how do you like them apples?&rdquo; Vice President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/jd-vance\/\" title=\"\">JD Vance<\/a> asked on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>It remains to be seen whether this was a short skirmish within a larger trade war, with Trump able to brandish tariffs without actually imposing them. There are also questions about how meaningful Canadian and Mexican concessions really are while Democrats are poised to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/daily-on-energy\/3309095\/daily-on-energy-tariffs-threaten-gas-price-hikes-epa-warned-of-layoffs-and-opec-stays-the-course\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">blame Trump for higher prices<\/a> should they ever take effect.<\/p>\n<p>What is beyond debate is that Trump&rsquo;s maneuver was no surprise.<\/p>\n<p>Trump campaigned on imposing tariffs last year, threatening them against even relatively friendly countries. He slapped tariffs on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/china\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">China<\/a> during his first term, which former President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/joe-biden\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Joe Biden<\/a> largely left in place, and renegotiated the old North American Free Trade Agreement. He ran against the Republican Party&rsquo;s decadeslong rhetorical commitment to free trade during the 2016 GOP primaries, and then against the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bill-clinton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Clintons&rsquo; role <\/a>in NAFTA in the general election.<\/p>\n<p>In interviews dating back to the 1980s, Trump&rsquo;s most consistently held public policy view was that foreign countries were taking advantage of the United States through unfair trade practices and poorly negotiated trade deals.<\/p>\n<p>After nearly a decade at the forefront of national politics, Trump&rsquo;s commitment to tariffs has only deepened. He cites William McKinley, a Republican president who declared that under free trade &ldquo;the trader is the master and the producer the slave.&rdquo; Trump didn&rsquo;t exactly conceal the fact that tariffs against Mexico and Canada were slated to be announced on Feb. 1.<\/p>\n<p>That announcement nevertheless sparked a firestorm: Headlines about a trade war with allies, criticism from Republicans on Capitol Hill, denunciations from newspaper editorial boards. Democrats who are normally loath to admit that taxes on business get passed on to consumers now sound like Grover Norquist on tariffs.<\/p>\n<p>When Trump won in November, there was a big spike in web searches for who pays for tariffs. A Quinnipiac poll taken in December found 51% of registered voters opposed the proposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China, while 38% supported them. An Ipsos poll at the time found that just 2% wanted tariffs to be a major Trump priority.<\/p>\n<p>Even the labor unions that might be Trump allies on trade policy were less than enthusiastic. &ldquo;The UAW supports aggressive tariff action to protect American manufacturing jobs as a good first step to undoing decades of anti-worker trade policy,&rdquo; the United Auto Workers union posted on X. &ldquo;We do not support using factory workers as pawns in a fight over immigration or drug policy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Trump&rsquo;s ability to unilaterally and immediately impose tariffs flows from national security concerns like border security and drug trafficking. Those were the areas where he was able to extract commitments from Canada and Mexico. Yet his own statements on the issue make plain that he is hoping to use tariffs to address trade deficits as well.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump team has at various points cited tariffs as a way to alleviate U.S. trade imbalances and replace revenue lost through domestic tax cuts, perhaps all the way up to the abolition of the federal income tax.<\/p>\n<p>But many Trump administration officials, frequently including the president himself, view tariffs as a way to secure negotiating leverage over foreign governments reliant on the U.S. market, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">encouraging greater domestic production<\/a>, and moving supply chains.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;A tariff that makes no sense from one perspective might be entirely wise and effective from another,&rdquo; American Compass&rsquo;s Oren Cass contended on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/oren_cass\/status\/1886486298979905544\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">an X thread<\/a>. &ldquo;Many otherwise serious economists have criticized Trump&rsquo;s China tariffs for failing to reshore manufacturing. But they were decoupling tariffs, and they achieved that.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While decoupling and rebalancing are major priorities of Trump-adjacent intellectuals, and would probably be fairly popular with the voters if achieved at a reasonable cost, the president won in November in large part because of the high cost of living under Biden. The persistence of high prices after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/inflation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">inflation<\/a> came down from a 41-year peak prevented much improvement in how the voters saw the Democrats&rsquo; economic stewardship.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Biden administration<\/a> continually pointed to other metrics to paint a more favorable picture of the economy, but high prices remained many voters&rsquo; dominant gauge. Biden also erroneously hoped that the spending most widely blamed for igniting inflation would instead win him credit for the pandemic recovery. If tariffs <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/energy-and-environment\/3309123\/gas-prices-could-rise-canada-tariffs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">end up getting imposed<\/a>, will voters make any distinction between that and Biden-era inflation?<\/p>\n<p>Where the Democrats&rsquo; initial emphasis on egg prices days into Trump&rsquo;s presidency only reinforced the lack of seriousness with which they took inflation before Jan. 20, tariff hikes by the current administration would be something tangible to criticize.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\"><strong><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think Americans who are concerned about increased prices should look at what President Trump did in his first term,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">White House<\/a> press secretary <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/karoline-leavitt\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"\">Karoline Leavitt<\/a> told reporters at a briefing last week. &ldquo;He effectively implemented tariffs, and the average inflation rate during the first Trump administration was 1.9%. In fact, when President Trump left office, it was 1.4%.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, Trump can express confidence in tariffs as a tool in his deal-making arsenal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <script data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/cdn-cgi\/scripts\/5c5dd728\/cloudflare-static\/email-decode.min.js\"><\/script><script>!function(){var g=window;g.googletag=g.googletag||{},g.googletag.cmd=g.googletag.cmd||[],g.googletag.cmd.push(function(){g.googletag.pubads().setTargeting(\"has-featured-video\",\"true\")})}();<\/script><script>var _bp=_bp||[];_bp.push({\"div\":\"Brid_1974217\",\"obj\":{\"id\":\"27789\",\"width\":\"1280\",\"height\":\"720\",\"stickyDirection\":\"below\",\"video\":\"1974217\"}});<\/script><script defer src=\"https:\/\/services.brid.tv\/player\/build\/brid.min.js\"><\/script><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump celebrates initial success in tariff strategy as Canada and Mexico agree to a month-long pause on duties<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2659,"featured_media":2398543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Trump-Trudeau.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9168,13991,3634],"class_list":["post-2398542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-economy","tag-tariffs","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Trump-Trudeau.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398542","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\/2659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2398542"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2398546,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2398542\/revisions\/2398546"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2398543"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2398542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2398542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2398542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}