Earlier this week, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump pledged on Truth Social to introduce a 25 percent tariff on all goods coming from Mexico and Canada, and an additional 10 percent tariff—above any existing tariffs—on all products from China entering the United States.
Trump justified the announcement by claiming that although he “had many talks with China” about America’s opioid addiction crisis, China continued to funnel “massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl,” into the United States.
A variety of domestic factors contribute to America’s ongoing struggle with the opioid crisis. Nevertheless, blaming another country can be a convenient way to deflect criticism that should be directed internally. The U.S. often points to China as the source of problems that are, in fact, largely homegrown.
Trump’s steadfast belief that tariffs are effective does not hold up to scrutiny.
Many Americans who pay serious attention to the news know that tariffs are a flawed policy tool, sometimes used to suggest that China is responsible for the decline of manufacturing jobs in the U.S. In reality, neither politicians nor businesses have successfully figured out how to modernize the U.S. workforce. Clinging to outdated ideas will not solve today’s problems, nor will misplacing blame.
Economists have pointed out that American citizens bear the cost of tariffs, even though politicians may claim that China will suffer because of them. Whether Americans are paying more for food, luggage, or aluminum, they continue to endure the effects of ineffective tariffs against China. Meanwhile, Beijing reiterated this week that no country wins when tariffs are in place.
Mexico and Canada also criticized Trump’s tariff threats. “The response to one tariff will be another, until we put at risk companies that we share,” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum said. Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario in Canada, stated that the tariffs would be “devastating to workers and jobs” in both the U.S. and Canada.
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Trump making promises on tariffs that will continue to cost U.S.
cgtn.com
