Source: Quillette
by Phillip W Magness
“When Trump bluffs then retracts a tariff threat to attain diplomatic concessions, tariffs are merely a negotiating device. When he pulls the tariff trigger on the same nation a few days later, we’re told that it’s to address a national-security ’emergency’ on the border or part of a plan to somehow offset Chinese steel production by taxing Canadian steel. When the markets crash, it’s all part of an elaborate four-dimensional chess game to restructure the global economy. Administration talking points about the dangers of a tariff-induced recession change by the hour, ranging from denying any threat of economic turmoil to insinuating that some purposeful economic ‘reset’ of the global trading system is afoot.” (04/09/25)
https://quillette.com/2025/04/09/the-nonsense-of-the-tariff-men-trump-navarro-miran-lutnick-hassett/