By: Kat Littfin

News Editor

President Donald Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20 marked a shift in the United States’s international economic policy as he rolled out long-awaited heightened tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico. Promising a more affordable economy and attacking former President Joe Biden for inflating prices, President Trump insisted that his unprecedented tariffs would benefit the American people. Many of Trump’s supporters celebrated his economic plans and readied themselves for a thriving economy under him. In reality, President Trump’s tariffs can potentially cause issues domestically and internationally, as recent domestic price shifts and responses from other countries to the tariffs exemplify.

Traditionally, the US has implemented tariffs, or a tax on goods coming from another country, to promote the growth of domestic companies, encouraging economic growth and industry within the US. Tariffs reduce international economic competition and can be especially beneficial to American industries if employed strategically. For example, if both the US and China produce computers, placing tariffs on Chinese computers can be beneficial to boosting the American technology industry and, therefore, the American economy. However, tariffs can be counterproductive, such as if the government institutes them on a product that is exclusively imported. In this case, the products would increase in price and American industries would not benefit, hurting the American people as they pay a higher price for the product. President Trump’s tariff plan is anything but strategic. Rather than using tariffs as a tool to elevate the American economy, Trump blatantly aims to use them as a weapon against foreign countries. The White House website explicitly states that Trump’s 25% import tax on Canada and Mexico and 10% import tax on China is to “address the emergency situation” of illegal immigration and drug trafficking, directly referencing Fentanyl. While the President’s speeches and press releases led many in his voter base to believe that his economic plan would benefit them, the consumers, his website admits that his tariffs are simply a political tool and a force of leverage against foreign powers. According to Time Magazine, President Trump’s tariffs could raise prices on housing, a significant issue due to the already existing housing crisis, as well as automobiles and fresh produce, which the US mainly sources from Mexico and Canada.

Furthermore, President Trump’s tariffs have the potential to hurt America in terms of international diplomacy and trade. His tariff plan has already negatively impacted foreign relations to the point that it may begin to be palpable to the American economy. Canada has already retaliated against Trump’s tariffs and declared counter-tariffs against American imports. Both President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada have voiced anger with Trump over his economic policies and other diplomatic tactics. With foreign tensions heightening, President Trump is not prioritizing the American economy in the way he advertised, ultimately threatening harm to the American people and economy.

Through his tariffs, President Trump has effectively raised prices and negatively impacted the United States’s relationship with other countries. Coming from a president who promised an economy for the people and free of “Biden-flation,” the contradictions between his promises and the reality of his policies should be alarming to Americans.

(Sources: The White House, Time, CNN)