“WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!).”
Trump’s apparent obsession with being the second coming of William McKinley has moved him to follow through on his promise to enact tariffs on February 1. The kicker? Not only do they apply to Canada and Mexico—our neighbors and among our strongest allies—but they are higher than what has been applied to China.
A near-blanket 25 percent tariff now applies to all Canadian and Mexican imports, except for Canadian energy which faces a 10 percent tariff (more on that in a moment). An additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports has also been issued.
Erica York is continuing to do great work on this topic. Her analysis has found that the formerly-looming “Scenario 2”, now a reality, would reduce American after-tax incomes across the spectrum.
Furthermore, she projects that GDP and full-time equivalent employment would decline by 0.4% and 344 thousand jobs, respectively.
I find many things about this fascinating. Most facially apparent is the carveout for Canadian energy. Why would Mr. Unleashing American Energy want to apply a lower tariff on energy imports? Because the negative effects of tariffs are real, and he knows it. President Trump has placed his own obsession with exacting economic pain on our allies to show how big and tough we are (citation needed) over the everyday needs of Americans.
I’ll let him explain:
THIS WILL BE THE GOLDEN AGE OF AMERICA!
WILL THERE BE SOME PAIN? YES, MAYBE (AND MAYBE NOT!). BUT WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, AND IT WILL ALL BE WORTH THE PRICE THAT MUST BE PAID.
WE ARE A COUNTRY THAT IS NOW BEING RUN WITH COMMON SENSE — AND THE RESULTS WILL BE SPECTACULAR!!!
That is simply cuckoo crazy town, and it would be hilarious if it weren’t so serious. Expect to see a lot more in this vein. The mandate they believe they have doesn’t exist, and it will become clear to them the more we pay “the price that must be paid” to “Make America Great Again”.
Unfortunately for the rest of us, all sales are final. There are no refunds.