Source: EconTalk
by Pierre Lemieux
“The customs tariffs imposed on imported goods by President Donald Trump on April 2 will, according to some estimates, bring the average US tariff higher than after the infamous Smoot-Hawley tariffs of 1930 …. As these tariffs are a tax on American consumers … the impact on the cost of living will be significant. The poorest Americans, a large part of whom voted for Trump, will be the hardest hit. … However, the costly shock that will hit the American economy and the world may have a silver lining. If Mr. Trump does not rapidly back up or is not rapidly forced to, the episode will show again what economists have known for nearly three centuries and what economic history has constantly confirmed — that mercantilism has disastrous effects on most of the population.” (04/04/25)