President Trump’s argument for starting an international trade war is based on a socialistic-sounding plea for “fairness” and equality. Some foreign governments plunder their citizens with high tariff taxes on American imports, thereby forcing them to pay higher prices for those or competing domestic goods. The reason they are called “protective” tariffs is that they “protect” consumers from lower prices. When your foreign competitor is forced to pay a 50 percent tax on his products and you do not, you can increase your price by say, 40 percent and still underprice him. Politically connected corporations pocket this loot at the expense of their hapless, politically unorganized fellow citizens. Tariff taxes are legalized theft for the benefit of already-rich corporations and
Read More »2025-03-14