, Columnist
The Logic of Trump’s Tariffs Has a Huge Hole
The former president wants to have it both ways: Higher net exports and higher net capital inflow. It’s foolhardy to expect that to happen.
Speaking like a true protectionist.
Photographer: Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg
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In his interview this week with John Micklethwait, editor-in-chief of Bloomberg News, former President Donald Trump offered a somewhat unusual argument in favor of tariffs, which he called “the most beautiful word in the dictionary.” Tariffs, he suggested, are not mainly about protecting domestic industry. Rather, they may serve as a means of luring foreign direct investment to the US.
Yet this defense of tariffs also falls short.