Over the past month, there has been a looming undertone in American politics concerning tariffs. Many people, particularly Americans, are wondering what they are. What do they do? How will they impact the country? It is safe to say that the concept is making rounds in discussions different from before.
What Are Tariffs?
To quiet the minds of many, tariffs are simply a tax on things from other places to encourage you to buy locally. In real terms, “A tariff is a tax imposed on foreign-made goods, paid by the importing business to its home country’s government.”
For example, imagine you have a lemonade stand, and you buy lemons from your neighbour for $1 each. One day, your parents decide that buying from the neighbour is unfair to your family's lemon tree, so they make a new rule: every time you buy a lemon from the neighbour, you have to pay an extra 50 cents. Now, lemons from the neighbour cost you $1.50 instead of $1. You might decide to buy from your own tree instead, but if your tree doesn’t have enough lemons or they’re not as good, your lemonade might be worse or more expensive. That extra 50 cents is like a tariff—but sometimes, it makes things more expensive for everyone.
What is Donald Trump Planning to Do with Tariffs?
As part of his plainly put “mandate,” President Donald Trump has ruled tariffs a go. Under his economic plan, tariffs will be used aggressively against foreign competitors, particularly Canada and Mexico, in an effort to push American consumers and businesses to buy domestic products. Trump and his supporters argue that tariffs will revitalize American manufacturing and reduce dependence on foreign imports, thus securing economic stability.
But is this strategy truly in America’s best interest, or is it an overblown nationalistic maneuver that will backfire on the very people it claims to protect?
The Hidden Cost of Trump's Tariff Plan
While Trump proudly boasts tariffs as a measure to protect American jobs, historical data suggests otherwise. Tariffs often lead to retaliatory trade policies from other nations, making American exports more expensive abroad. This was evident during Trump’s previous tenure when China responded to U.S. tariffs with its own, severely impacting American farmers and manufacturers. The fallout was massive with Trump's previous 2018 and ‘19 administrations authorizing “...payments to U.S. farmers of $28 billion to offset their losses from Chinese trade retaliation”.
Now, this doesn't sound like “making China pay” as he likes to tell his supporters and the masses. Echoed in his October debate with Joe Biden in 2020, he stated that China is “paying billions and billions of dollars” on U.S. tariffs, yet another misleading claim. Instead of economic growth, many businesses faced higher costs, supply chain disruptions, and lost revenue due to shrinking global demand for American goods. Definitively, tariffs mainly act as a tax on consumers. Yes, consumers. Not China or any other nation he threatens tariffs on. So when Americans talk about wanting the prices of gas and eggs to go lower, they shouldn't be welcoming to the idea of tariffs, at least in the way Trump's administration seeks to put it. If tariffs make foreign goods more expensive, local businesses may invest in producing those goods domestically, but that is of low probability.
While these mechanisms can theoretically lead to lower costs, the reality is that tariffs often lead to price increases, supply chain disruptions, and retaliatory measures from other countries. For tariffs to truly reduce costs, they must be part of a well-planned strategy rather than a blanket policy. Thus, the fact that the current president can't even correctly explain the concept of a tariff to begin with, paired with a lack of desire to learn, this initiative leans on the side of blanket policy rather than a well-planned strategy.
Is Trump Outplaying the Global Market or His Own Citizens?
Despite the clear economic downsides, Trump continues to push the narrative that tariffs will somehow outmaneuver global competitors. It's almost like he sees a future gotcha moment that apparently the rest of the world has not recognized yet. When and if that time comes, praise can be had but until then it’s best to stay on the side of facts.
That is why in a highly interconnected global economy, such an approach is more likely to isolate America than empower it. Major corporations, instead of shifting manufacturing back to the U.S., may seek alternative markets and supply chains outside of America altogether, rendering the tariff strategy ineffective.
Trump’s tariff approach operates on a zero-sum game mentality—where economic wins and losses are treated as political victories or defeats. However, trade does not function in such simplistic terms. Countries that impose heavy tariffs often see their economies shrink rather than grow, and it’s unclear if Trump is truly considering these long-term consequences or simply using tariffs as a populist tool to rally his base.
The Verdict: Strategy or Self-Sabotage?
At its core, Trump’s tariff agenda seems less like a carefully thought-out economic strategy and more like a politically convenient talking point. While it might sound appealing to voters who are frustrated with outsourcing and trade imbalances, the reality is far more complex. If tariffs lead to higher prices, fewer jobs, and economic isolation, then the supposed “America First” strategy may turn out to be an “America Last” debacle. But does that truly even matter to the American people?
At this point, it seems that the larger issue isn't just Trump's economic policies but the willingness of many Americans (particularly the 77 million people who voted for him) to blindly trust his rhetoric without understanding how government and trade policies actually work. Evidently, a large portion of the electorate operates on emotion rather than informed decision-making, relying on soundbites instead of research. This lack of critical engagement is what allowed Trump to win in the first place, as many voters were drawn to his tough-guy persona and simplistic economic promises rather than substantive policy analysis.
If more people took the time to understand the real mechanics of trade, international relations, and economic policy, they might not have elected a president whose strategies could considerably backfire on the very people he claims to help. Instead, the nation now faces the consequences of learning the hard way why it’s crucial to do your own research, question authority, and demand accountability from political leaders. Until this lesson is fully grasped, history is bound to repeat itself—at the expense of the American economy and its people.
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