Trump's tariffs
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs on imports into the US is doing good things for global trade, according to Agriculture and Trade Minister Todd McClay.
Maurice Obstfeld, a former IMF Chief Economist, recently noted these tariffs will hit Americans hardest, if reintroduced after the 90-day pause.
Here in NZ, commentator Oliver Hartwich reckons the Trump administration is taxing imports in precisely the areas in which the US economy gains the most – like cheap inputs for manufacturing or products no longer made domestically.
The result will be higher prices, less choice and less prosperity. “It is economic self-sabotage dressed up as patriotism.”
This mutt reckons the temporary suspension is a welcome reprieve but the underlying strategy has not changed – nor has the threat. Trump’s decision to hike tariffs on Chinese imports to ridiculous levels shows that this trade war is far from over.
