Trump's Great Idea

The average tariff on imports to the United States during the 19th and early 20th century was around 33% on manufacted goods. US imports continued to be taxed from the end of the First World War unti 1942 when the US adopted a policy of free trade. Until the beginning of the 21st Century US industrial production continued its exponential growth, but has since flatlined. 

The reason for this pattern is simply that the second world war devastated the economy of every major American competitor, namely, Germany, France, Britain, Italy and Japan. But those countries have long since recovered from the ravages of war, while China, India, South Korea, Indonesia and many other countries have rapidly industrialized to provide the Western nations with massive cheap-labor economic competition.

Trump's big idea? To restore a tariff wall on manufactured goods. The consequence? Companies now exporting to the US from cheap labor countries such as China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, and Bangladesh will establish manufacturing facilities inside the US tariff wall. The price of goods no longer made by sweatshop workers in Bangladesh, Vietnam or wherever will be much higher. But then American workers will have plentiful high wage job opportunities in manufacturing. Just as in the good old 1950s. 

Sounds great. Even better would be to invite Canada to join within a shared tariff wall. As an abbreviation MNAGA does not make for a great slogan, but, if adopted, it would make all of North America great again. 

Trump's Other Good Idea

DOGE announces more than $1B in savings after canceling 104 federal DEI contracts