Navarro's Wall Street Journal op-ed looks more like a deliberately deceptive attempt to argue that limiting imports will boost economic growth. It won't.
China's 2010 export restrictions on rare earth compounds failed then, and they would fail now
Tariffs, tweets, and totalitarianism today in the Reason podcast
This might seem like nothing more than a snooze-worthy debate over semantics or economic theory or government P.R. strategies. But it matters a lot.
"Tariffs are taxes on Americans—and we talk as if that's not the case; we forget that Americans are paying them," says Pete Buttigieg. That shouldn't be noteworthy, but unfortunately it is.
Plus: Game of Thrones ends, Trump's trade war with China regrettably does not.
As messy as things are, they could get uglier still.
Congress was unlikely to approve Trump's NAFTA rewrite while those tariffs were in place.
Trump isn't putting any tariffs on imported cars right now, but the White House has released a report that effectively allows the president to do that any time he chooses.
Trade has made Americans better off, and Democrats should use every opportunity to make that argument in the face of Trump's trade war.
Trump's strategy was never going to be a winning one.
The president’s double-talk about tariffs reflects his economically ignorant conviction that exports are good and imports are bad.
While Trump prepares another round of aid payments for farmers, Marco Rubio is pushing for tariffs on Mexican fruits and vegetables that will send prices soaring.
The most likely end result of Trump's literal Buy American policy: lots of American farm goods rotting in federal warehouses
Marx “was a champion of free trade, and no friend of tariff barriers.”
If the United States had pursued a different strategy from the outset of the Trump administration, it might now be in a position to counter China's hardball tactics.
America first? It really depends on what part of America you live in.
Is Trump using tariffs as a negotiating tactic? That's the most generous reading of his trade policy, but it's unsupported by the facts.
Private property rights, public squares, "dangerous" speech, and pre-regulatory suck-ups, all debated on the Reason Podcast.
Is the president the only person left in America who doesn't understand that Americans are paying for his tariffs?
The federal law protecting the shipping industry from competition strikes again.
Once a protectionist, always a protectionist.
A key senator issues the sort of binary, transactional choice that Trump seems to prefer. Will the POTUS listen?
After overpromising the benefits and underestimating the costs, reality is starting to puncture the White House's messaging on trade.
A new report finds the tariffs raised $82 million for the U.S. Treasury but ended up increasing costs for consumers by about $1.2 billion.
And they'll cost more to buy
But wasn't the whole point of the trade war to boost U.S. manufacturing?
Protectionist policies produce negative results.
Donald Trump's rhetoric is breathtakingly authoritarian, but so far he's done less than his predecessors to expand executive power.
The splintering of international economic interdependence is a worrying sign for peace through trade.
Oh, and the U.S. auto industry wouldn't even last that long.
Closing the border would be a "profit-making operation," says Trump. That's not how any of this works.
That should be enough to end this silly debate. But what the president says and what the president does are not always the same.
Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's revisionist history of the U.S.-China trade relationship misses the mark.
He's a free trader against dumping, a deficit hawk for Medicare expansion, and an anti-drug warrior who wants to imprison pharma execs.
"Bilateral tariffs result in lower GDP, employment, investment, and trade for the U.S.," a new report concludes.
Fretting over deficits and intellectual property will do no good and much harm.
That's just fine, unless you happen to be a president who promised to reduce it.
New study shows U.S. consumers pay every dollar of the tariffs, which have also damaged supply chains and the availability of goods.
Any deal will be better than the current mess, which is largely of Trump's own making.
Trump could destroy American jobs and America's relationship with Germany at the same time.
Steel manufacturers spent $12.2 million lobbying the federal government in 2018, an increase of nearly 20 percent over the previous year.
There are dueling bills in front of Congress, both backed by Republicans. One would expand Trump's tariff authority, while the other would check it.
A bipartisan, bicameral proposal would stop Trump from using the tired "national security" excuse to justify his protectionist trade policies.
Because of tariffs, Ford hourly employees will lose out on $750 they would have otherwise received.
Help Reason push back with more of the fact-based reporting we do best. Your support means more reporters, more investigations, and more coverage.
Make a donation today! No thanks
Every dollar I give helps to fund more journalists, more videos, and more amazing stories that celebrate liberty.
Yes! I want to put my money where your mouth is! Not interested
So much of the media tries telling you what to think. Support journalism that helps you to think for yourself.
I’ll donate to Reason right now! No thanks
Push back against misleading media lies and bad ideas. Support Reason’s journalism today.
My donation today will help Reason push back! Not today
Back journalism committed to transparency, independence, and intellectual honesty.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
Support journalism that challenges central planning, big government overreach, and creeping socialism.
Yes, I’ll support Reason today! No thanks
Support journalism that exposes bad economics, failed policies, and threats to open markets.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
Back independent media that examines the real-world consequences of socialist policies.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
Support journalism that challenges government overreach with rational analysis and clear reasoning.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
Support journalism that challenges centralized power and defends individual liberty.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
Your support helps expose the real-world costs of socialist policy proposals—and highlight better alternatives.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks
Donate today to fuel reporting that exposes the real costs of heavy-handed government.
Yes, I’ll donate to Reason today! No thanks