Trump should've focused on China all along. His impatience weakened the economy. | Opinion
This was an easy exit for Trump's tariff mistake. While I'm glad he took it, the rapid change on tariffs reduces the confidence Americans and the rest of the world have in U.S. economic policy.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced that he would pause his sweeping “reciprocal” tariffs for more than 75 countries for 90 days. The major exception to this is China, whose tariffs have skyrocketed to 125%.
Markets surged in response to the news, and Trump supporters were quick to claim that this was the plan all along. Even though there still remains a 10% universal tariff, the new status quo is far preferable to the lunacy seen in Trump’s “Liberation Day” chart.
The reality is that this was an easy exit for Trump’s tariff mistake. While I’m glad he took it, the rapid change of opinion on tariffs reduces the confidence that Americans and the rest of the world have in Trump’s economic policy.
Trump should have targeted China from the start
There's an argument to be made for targeted tariffs on Chinese goods. The 125% tariffs that the Trump administration has now slapped on our great rival are much higher than makes sense, but disincentivizing investment in China has value for America.
There is a national security argument in favor of levying restrictions on Chinese imports, and it's something conservative politicians can broadly defend to their voters. Even if some products become more expensive, it's not likely to single-handedly crash the economy.
While it's certainly preferable that Trump has decided to take this off-ramp, the whirlwind of decision-making over the past week projects neither competence nor stability.
Our trading partners have now had the status of their imports to America in constant flux for weeks, and none of these partners should be faulted for remaining skeptical that Trump won’t change his mind at any given instant.
Had Trump’s tariff focus been solely on China, then the markets would not have reacted as negatively as they did.
And Republican politicians would not have been thrust into the position of defending policies they knew would harm the American economy.
Trump's supporters are celebrating, even though he was wrong
The president’s allies will claim that this is an “art of the deal” instance, but it's not clear what the United States gained through this stock market roller coaster.
Trump himself admitted that the uneasiness of the bond market drove his decision to walk back tariffs, which in itself is him admitting that his decision to institute them in the first place weakened the American economy.
A 10% universal tariff still disincentivizes growth, and the market’s partial recovery masks the fact that these policies have left Americans worse off than they otherwise would have been.
Trump and his allies all week insisted that these tariffs would be good for Main Street and that the manufacturing growth in America would be worth the stock market turmoil. Suddenly, those very allies are suggesting that free trade is good and that Trump’s tariff threats were only meant to get America a better trade deal with other nations.
It's unclear to me which argument the Trump administration favors at any given instant. If tariffs are so good for the American worker, why do countries want to negotiate free trade deals as an accomplishment for the administration? I can’t answer that question, nor can Trump or his advisers.
That's the problem.
Dace Potas is an opinion columnist for Paste BN and a graduate of DePaul University with a degree in political science.