Source: The American Prospect
by Robert Kuttner
“On April 2, as he imposed exorbitant tariffs that triggered a stock market collapse, Donald Trump said this: ‘For decades, our country has been looted, pillaged, raped, and plundered by nations near and far, both friend and foe alike. American steelworkers, autoworkers, farmers, and skilled craftsmen—they really suffered gravely. They watched in anguish as foreign leaders have stolen our jobs, foreign cheaters have ransacked our factories, and foreign scavengers have torn apart our once beautiful American dream.’ Trump’s tariffs, which are more about indiscriminate bullying than trade policy, set off reams of simplistic commentary praising the glory days of free trade. Yet we would do well to remember our history, or we could end up cherishing the kind of corporate globalization whose backlash paved the way for Trump in the first place.” (04/08/25)
https://prospect.org/economy/2025-04-08-we-never-had-free-trade/