Reagan secured peace through strength, Trump is betting he can achieve prosperity the same way
Trump's "Liberation Day" announcement in the Rose Garden was a declaration that the era of free trade and globalization was giving way to a new era of fair trade.
By John Solomon
Published: April 2, 2025 10:59pm
Updated: April 3, 2025 12:29am
What happened in the White House Rose Garden on Wednesday afternoon can’t be underestimated, an undeniable shot heard throughout the world of global trade. President Donald Trump imposed a nearly universal 10% tax on most foreign products entering the United States, and in so doing ended the era of free trade.
The legacy of Trump’s gamble won’t be written in the first few weeks after the imposition of these new and historic tariffs – though legacy news media will try to gauge it through the certain volatility of investment markets in the next few weeks.
Rather, the verdict will be cemented by the answers to three questions that should clearly be answered by the time the 47th president leaves office in 2028:
Will tariffs force allies and foes to drop their protectionism and treat U.S. products more fairly?
Will they generate tens of trillions of dollars in new investment from companies seeking to escape the pain of tariffs by moving manufacturing and jobs back to America?
And will those who keep unfair trade barriers to America generate enough new tax revenue to balance America’s budget and reduce the national debt?
In his announcement Wednesday afternoon, Trump made clear he had no qualms ending the era of free trade and replacing it with an era of fair trade – fair to America that is.
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