Trump's 'America First' Plan Is Naked Special-Interest Policymaking

[EasyAce]

When anyone says, "I’m for free trade, but it must be fair trade," they are really saying: "I am not for free trade."
By Sheldon Richman
http://reason.com/archives/2018/01/28/trumps-america-first-plan-is-naked-speci/print

Donald Trump, the self-proclaimed voice of American working people, has decreed that the prices of washing machines and solar panels shall rise. So it is written. So it is done.

Trump's decree, placing tariffs (taxes) on imported versions of those goods, will impose higher costs on consumers to help (in the short run) the minority of Americans who work in those industries. That's how protectionism works—a favored group of firms and workers benefits at the expense of everyone else.

Trump calls this "America First" and looking out for average Americans, making him either a demagogue or an ignoramus. In fact, it's naked special-interest policymaking.

Trump acted on recommendations from his U.S. trade representative (USTR), Robert Lightheiser, who invoked the law that gives the government the power to impose tariffs when, in Lightheiser's words, "increased foreign imports … are a substantial cause of serious injury to domestic manufacturers."

This particular law does not require the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) to identify any "unfair trade practice," such as dumping or subsidies. All that is necessary is that a domestic firm (for example, in the washing-machine case, Whirlpool) or industry convinces the ITC and USTR that foreign competition has harmed it—that is, that American consumers prefer the imports to domestic alternatives.

Thus the American Firster Trump is coddling wimpy, whining firms that are better at lobbying than competing in the marketplace. This he calls "draining the swamp" . . .

[goatprairie]

I notice none of Trump's big kiester-kissers in the media like Limbaugh, Hannity, and a number of others have said anything about this. Or if they have, I missed hearing them say it.
Bad move by Trump after an opening year of a lot of very good moves.  Hopefully, he'll revoke these tariffs like Bush II revoked his steel tariff that turned out to cost the jobs of many thousands of American workers.