Breitbart Business Digest: How Trump’s Tariffs Would Grow the EconomyJohn Carney 25 Sep 2024
The Dirty Secret of Economics: Trump Is Right on Trade
One of the least discussed but most obvious realities of modern trade is that Donald Trump is, in his rough-hewn way, mostly right about tariffs, while the accepted wisdom mouthed by the media, think tanks, and economists for public consumption is, if not wrong, at least incomplete.
Trump’s basic argument is straightforward: U.S. trade policy has been naïvely generous, flinging our markets wide open while tolerating a laundry list of barriers from our so-called partners. The result, he claims, has been a direct hit to American prosperity. His prescription? A more balanced trade approach—one that demands reciprocity and uses leverage to pry open foreign markets.
Now, if that sounds like a fairly sensible proposition, you might be wondering why this draws such ire from the intellectual halls of economics. After all, economists love free trade and preach that more of it makes everyone richer. Specialization, comparative advantage, and all that. And yet, here’s the rub: when Trump talks about using tariffs to get to that promised land of freer trade, they balk.
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https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2024/09/25/breitbart-business-digest-how-trumps-tariffs-would-grow-the-economy/
