Donald J. Trump likes to boast that he’s the “tariff president,” making it a central theme of his grand economic plan that will bring factories back to the U.S., offset the cost of tax breaks for his wealthy friends, lower grocery prices, solve the child care crisis and bring peace to the Middle East.
Yes, the so-called billionaire who has taken bankruptcy six times, been forced to shut down the Donald J. Trump Foundation in New York because of fraud, and is now selling bibles, gold sneakers and trading cards to gullible believers has a policy panacea that will cure all our economic ills.
We’ve seen this movie and it didn’t end well the first time. The sequel will be worse ... much worse.
Just to refresh your memory, when Trump imposed tariffs on Chinese imports in 2018, the result was $80 billion in new taxes on Americans. According to a study by the Tax Foundation, it amounted “to one of the largest tax increases in decades.”
Actually, it hit the pockets of U.S. taxpayers in two ways.
American agricultural exports to China were $24 billion in 2014 and fell to $9.1 billion in 2018, according to the American Farm Bureau. In 2018, U.S. farmers’ soybean exports to China declined by 75%, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission.
In order not to lose the support of rural America because of his inability to understand how tariffs actually work, the Trump administration provided a taxpayer funded $28 billion bailout to farmers. The Trump administration gave more taxpayer dollars to farmers harmed by its trade policies than the federal government spent each year building ships for the Navy ($22 billion) or maintaining America’s nuclear arsenal ($21.8 billion), according to a report by the National Foundation for American Policy.
Because he’s incapable of admitting he ever makes a mistake, in addition to his ignorance on how tariffs work, Trump is promising Tariffs 2.0 should he return to the White House.
During a recent event in Smithton, Pennsylvania, Trump threatened John Deere with a 200% tariff after the company announced plans to build a factory in Mexico.
Now one can debate the merits of another American company sending factory jobs outside the country to take advantage of cheaper labor and less government oversight at the same time it is laying off more than 600 employees at three production plants in Illinois and Iowa. But threatening the company with a 200% tariff that will eventually be passed along to farmers hardly seems like a solution.
The former president won’t find believers in massive tariffs among the Kansas Corn Growers Association and National Corn Growers who are voicing concerns about higher tariffs on the herbicide 2,4-D.
“In a perfect world, U.S. farmers wouldn’t have to rely on imported inputs like 2,4-D. But in reality, imported generic 2,4-D along with other herbicides are important to our efforts to manage weeds,” said KCGA President J.D. Hanna of Silver Lake.
“In June, our farm paid a little over $20 per gallon of 2,4-D, and now the lowest price I can find is $29, a 45% increase over just a few months, and that’s if you can get it,” adds Tanner McNinch, a KCGA board member from Ness City.
The decision to increase tariffs comes at the request of domestic herbicide producer Corteva Agriscience who claims foreign suppliers are dumping lower-priced 2,4-D on the domestic market.
“We would welcome ideas from Corteva on how to ensure that this herbicide is available and affordable for American growers,” says NCGA President Harold Wolle.
This shows how complicated trade issues are and why U.S. consumers rely on foreign suppliers. Without imports to meet demand, the result will be much higher prices for a limited amount of herbicide from domestic suppliers.
But that’s too much for Trump to comprehend. Don’t take our word for it. Sixteen Nobel prize-winning economists penned a letter warning that the U.S. and world economy will suffer if Trump wins the presidential election.
The economists say Trump’s economic plans would reignite inflation, in part because of his pledge to impose stiffer tariffs on Chinese imports, which they say will hike prices on many goods bought by U.S. consumers.
“Many Americans are concerned about inflation, which has come down remarkably fast,” the letter stated. “There is rightly a worry that Donald Trump will reignite this inflation, with his fiscally irresponsible budgets.”
You can either believe economists who have never been responsible for taking bankruptcy on a casino or you can believe a con artist who has made a career out of preying on the gullible and escaping accountability for his failures.
If voters, and taxpayers, fall for the con yet again, then be prepared to open up your checkbooks because it won’t come cheap.
