Source: Reason
by JD Tuccille
“Trump has repeatedly linked tariffs to the country’s wealth. At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, he insisted the U.S. was at its wealthiest relative to the rest of the world ‘from 1870 to 1913. That was our richest because we collected tariffs from foreign countries that came in and took our jobs and took our money, took our everything, but they charged tariffs.’ But if tariffs are linked to prosperity, it’s an inverse relationship, according to a recent report on America’s declining economic freedom for Canada’s Fraser Institute. … ‘In the high-tariff countries, average GDP per capita is just $9,703 per year,’ while ‘in low-tariff countries, it is $43,502 per year.'” (09/05/25)