Source: Washington Monthly
by Bill Scher
“Trump’s reset of the global economy has changed the trade debate. Whatever challenges were posed by an international trading regime imperfectly managed by the World Trade Organization pale compared to a worldwide trade war waged by an impulsive president who is even perplexing his aides. The immediate question is: Should we have a trade war or peace? A trade war is stupid. Economic stability gets nuked when leaders launch tariffs like they are firing missiles. The Trump argument is that since we were getting ‘ripped off,’ risking a recession is necessary to make trade policies fair. This argument misses any explanation of why Americans must suffer to make trade policies fair and how making them pay higher prices gives Washington leverage to forge better trade deals.” (04/15/25)