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Former President Donald Trump has made tariffs central to his proposed economic policies. He imagines an economy comparable to that of President William McKinley’s in the 1890’s, which raised primary revenue from tariffs. Somehow Trump seemingly sees such tariff income as free money with which to fund what’s left of the federal government after his cuts and any program he promises such as child care.
Alas Trump does not seem to understand what a tariff is. Apparently, he mistakenly assumes that tariffs are paid by the country sending to the U.S. Instead they are paid by whoever receives the foreign goods and in turn by whatever customer or producer takes final custody. Apparently no staffer has yet educated Trump to the falseness of his beliefs and expectations about tariffs.
Trump has proposed 10 percent or 20 percent tariffs on everything imported to the U.S. with much higher levels on Chinese goods. Thus Vice President Kamala Harris says correctly that Trump wants the equivalent of a national sales tax on all American families who buy imported food and other goods.
In his meandering rants Trump has spoken of tariffs as high as 100 percent, 200 percent, even 1,000 percent! This is delusional economics. He also assumes that sending countries will accept his high tariffs and continue sending their goods.
Instead we must expect reciprocal levies on U.S. goods sent abroad and mounting trade wars such as weakened the global economy prior to the Great Depression in the 1930s.
James Matlack
Camden
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