I publish this article to show what some in the media, academia and special interests thought about the results of a “tariff war” on Mexico and Canada. That “war” last less than 24 hours. The proposed tariffs are now on hold. Trump got 10,000 Mexican troops to help stop illegal aliens coming into our nation. The Canadians agreed to spend another $1.8 billion on stopping drugs and illegal aliens coming into out nation. The cost of a beer from Mexico or goods from Canada did not go up a dime. Trump won, for all of us—and it cost us NOTHING.
Over the next 30 days we will start getting economic victories as well. This is a template on how to use tariffs as leverage to get policy changes. During his first term, it took Trump three years to get Mexico to agree to send troops to the border. In this term, it only took him TWO WEEKS.
He promised and he delivered.
TRUMP’S GIGANTIC MISTAKE
By Richard Colman, Exclusive to the California Political News and Views, 2/5/25 www.capoliticalnewsandviews.com
President Donald Trump wants to impose tariffs of 25% on goods from Canada and Mexico.
Trump also wants to place a 10% a tariff on imported goods from China.
The tariffs are set to go into effect on Feb. 4, 2025.
Tariffs are simply taxes. When imported goods cost more, the result will be inflation.
As president, Ronald Reagan, a Republican — as Trump is — opposed tariffs with free nations.
Tariffs imposed on Canadian and Mexican goods will prop up inefficient, domestic (American) manufacturers.
Ninety percent of avocados consumed in America come from Mexico. Currently, avocados cost about $2.00 each. With tariffs on avocados, the price will rise. With such a price rise, Americans are likely to consume fewer avocadoes.
In a stinging editorial on Feb. 1, 2025 (print edition), The Wall Street Journal has called Trump’s tariff plans “The Dumbest Trade War in History.”
In 1930, Congress passed and President Herbert Hoover signed the Smooot-Hawley tariff plan. The Smoot-Hawley tariff aggravated the Great Depression. American exports between 1929 and 1932 went from $7 billion to $2.5 billion –- a 64% decrease.
On Jan. 30, 2025, the Journal (online) carried an opinion piece by Phil Gramm, a former Texas senator and former chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Larry Summers, an economist and a former president of Harvard University. Gramm is a Republican. Summers is a Democrat.
Gramm and Summers hardly ever agree on American economic policy. However, they both, in their Journal opinion piece, strongly opposed Trump’s tariff plan. They wrote: “We therefore urge Congress not to adopt the [Trump] administration’s proposed tariffs and urge the president not to implement those tariffs by executive order.”
On Feb. 3, 2025, Trump announced that he was postponing, for one month, the tariffs planned for Mexico. Perhaps Trump was listening to his critics opposing the president’s planned tariffs.
For the last several years, America has experienced inflation. Trump’s proposed tariffs will only aggravate inflation. Cars might cost $3,000 more. Groceries will go up in price. Jobs in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. will be lost.
Trump’s proposed tariffs will increase the price of gasoline sold in America. The U.S. imports petroleum from Canada and Mexico.
A great example of the benefits of free trade is the United States itself. Among the 50 states, there are no tariffs. For example, if an American entity ships a box of books from Arizona to Pennsylvania, there are no tariffs.
The Mississippi River traverses 10 states. If an item in Minnesota had a value of $100, the item, assuming each state along the Mississippi River imposed a 25% tariff, would cost $650 by the time it arrived in Louisiana. How many people in Louisiana would pay $650 for an item than had a $100 value in Minnesota? These numbers do not reflect shipping costs.
The time has come for Trump to forget about tariffs from non-hostile nations. Everything in America already costs too much. Why should Americas pay more as well as lose jobs?
