Economics
Evidence Grows That Trump's Trade Wars Are Hitting U.S. Economy
- Authoritative studies point to net loss for U.S. from tariffs
- U.S. consumers and companies bearing cost of import duties
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President Donald Trump regularly declares that he’s winning his trade wars. Yet evidence is growing that the U.S. economy is a net loser so far.
In two separate papers published over the weekend, some of the world’s leading trade economists declared Trump’s tariffs to be the most consequential trade experiment seen since the 1930 Smoot-Hawley tariffs blamed for worsening the Great Depression. They also found the initial cost of Trump’s duties to the U.S. economy was in the billions and being borne largely by American consumers.