Trump Pledged To Support Tesla. His Trade Policies Will Do the Opposite.
Tariffs on steel and aluminum imports inflate the cost of electric vehicles.
Free Trade
Tariffs Raise Prices, Spark Conflicts, and Make Everyone Poorer
We rely on Canadian energy and lumber, and Canadians rely on our products. It's the proverbial win-win.
Trump's Threatened 200 Percent Tariffs on European Booze Are His Least Sensible Trade Move Yet
It would make American consumers poorer and hurt American businesses without any promise of benefits.
Congress Just Made It Harder for Congress To Block Trump's Tariffs
The cowardice of Congress will continue fueling the growth of executive power.
Why Some American Businesses Want More Tariffs
A quick lesson about concentrated benefits and diffused costs
It's Trump's Economy Now
Plus: A listener asks the editors to discuss the pros and cons of homeownership.
Trump's Trade War With America's Neighbors Is All Cost and No Benefit
What did we learn from yet another escalation in the North American trade war? Not to do it again.
Weak Dollar
Plus: Columbia's Hamas apologists, Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI, and more...
In Speech to Congress, Trump Promises More Tariff Madness
The tariffs Trump has already imposed on Canada, Mexico, and China will cost an estimated $142 billion this year—and he says more are on the way.
Trump Loves Tariffs. Fentanyl Is Just an Excuse.
If tariffs are a poor method of collecting revenue or strengthening trade, they're even less effective at stopping the flow of illegal drugs.
Tariffs Are In Effect. Expect Everything To Become More Expensive.
The Trump administration’s trade war leaves everyone worse off.
Trump's Dramatic Crossroads Between Protectionism and Dynamism
The GOP faces a choice about how to move forward.
Tariffs on Imports From Canada and Mexico Are Still a Terrible Idea
And an increasingly unpopular one. Will Trump pay attention to the polls, if not the economists?
Is the Jones Act Unconstitutional?
The law is wasteful and protectionist. Now, a new lawsuit argues that it is unconstitutional too.
Rand Paul Wants DOGE To Build a $500 Billion Rescission Package for Congress To Approve
"The only way you get less waste is to give them less money to spend," says the libertarian-adjacent senator from Kentucky.
Trump's 'Reciprocal' Tariffs Could Be Largest Tax Increase Since World War II
The specifics are still vague, but the White House is reportedly claiming that new tariffs will generate $1 trillion annually.
Trump's Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum Are Bad News for American Energy
"This really is one of the dumbest things we could be doing."
Trump's New Tariffs on Steel, Aluminum Won't Help American Manufacturing
And it's not about "fairness." Quite the opposite, actually.
Trade Wars That Never Happen Still Have Costs
One CEO says the uncertainty created by Trump's chaotic trade policies is "reminiscent of the adjustments we had to make during Covid-19."
Trump's Tariffs Require Customs Agents To Check All Mail from China
Eliminating tariff exemptions will increase import delivery times and make direct-to-consumer goods more expensive.
Trump's Tariff Threats Can't Win the Unwinnable War on Drugs
After promising to stop the flow of drugs during his first term, the president blames foreign officials for his failure.
Trump's Tariff Power Grab May not be Over
Yesterday's deals with Canada and Mexico stopped the trade war for now. But Trump may yet return to asserting sweeping authority to impose whatever tariffs he wants.
Trump's Trade War Will Make Energy More Expensive
From gasoline to nuclear power, tariffs will hurt America's energy sector.
Trump's North American Trade War Accomplished Nothing
Canada and Mexico agreed to keep doing things they were already doing, and Trump revealed that he cannot be trusted with unilateral tariff power.
Trump's Dumb Trade War
Plus: A listener asks the editors about the implications of Trump personally suing CBS to obtain transcripts from an interview with Kamala Harris.
Trump's Theory of Tariffs Makes No Sense
We can tax our way to prosperity, Trump claims, but we'll just…not do that, I guess?
Challenge Trump's Tariffs Under the Nondelegation and Major Questions Doctrines
Recent Supreme Court precedent suggests such challenges might prevail, though success is not guaranteed.
Tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China Could Start This Weekend
Trump's second trade war has apparently arrived. There remains much uncertainty, but expect it to be costly.
Trump's Role Model McKinley Tariffed His Way to Imperialism
Reviving the Monroe Doctrine and 19th century Republican adventurism is not a shortcut to peace.
Trump's Pro-Growth, Anti-Trade Positions Are on a Collision Course
The stark disconnect not only runs the risk of choking off much of the global commerce the president claims to welcome but threatens to stick U.S. consumers and businesses with higher costs.
Trump's Pick for Commerce Secretary Wants More Industrial Policy for Chipmakers
Howard Lutnick told senators that CHIPS Act subsidies were "an excellent down payment."
The Best of Reason: Cutting Off Trade Will Make the U.S. Poorer and China More Totalitarian
Politicians in both major parties see the People's Republic as an economic and military threat. But the real threat is an isolated China.
Trump's Tariffs To Tank Tequila
The owner of a famous cocktail bar in Dallas warns that tariffs on Mexican imports will mean higher menu prices and reduced availability of specialty tequila.
Is This New Chinese AI a 'Sputnik Moment'?
DeepSeek has released a cheap, open-source artificial intelligence. Does it challenge American AI supremacy?
Trump's Davos Speech: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
President Donald Trump doubled down on both domestic deregulation and protectionism in his speech to the World Economic Forum.
Rand Paul: Banning TikTok Is 'Group Hysteria'
"Every day I confront a bill that wants to ban another Chinese company," the Kentucky senator tells Reason.
How Trump Could Unilaterally Place Tariffs on Mexico and Canada
They are allied countries with which the U.S. has a trade deal (a deal negotiated by Trump, no less), but presidential emergency powers are nearly limitless.
Trump's Tariffs Will Make Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians Poorer
American tariffs will increase the price of final and intermediate goods, hurting our own consumers and domestic manufacturers.
Can Trump Rename the Gulf of Mexico With an Executive Order?
The most important thing in any name is not what some official institution or a collection of old maps says. Spontaneous order tends to rule the day.
Javier Milei Deregulates Food Imports and Exports
The move "seeks cheaper food for Argentines and more Argentine food for the world."
Trump Must Choose: Tariffs or Lower Prices
Domestic deregulation will decrease the cost of living. Trade barriers will do the opposite.
Trump Promises To Be a 'Peacemaker,' Threatens Panama
Trump is wrong to threaten an ally and prepare to tear up a treaty over a nonexistent threat.
Trump's 'External Revenue Service' Is a Public Relations Effort. It Won't Change How Tariffs Work.
Trump promises to "tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens." That's not how it works.
Cutting Off Trade Will Make the U.S. Poorer and China More Totalitarian
Politicians in both major parties see the People's Republic as an economic and military threat. But the real threat is an isolated China.
Hegseth on Defense
Plus: Who's on deck for the next round of confirmation hearings, Trump wants to create a second IRS, Cuba is no longer doing terrorism, and more...
Trump's Inauguration Won't Change the Fact That People Dislike High Gas Prices
The incoming administration is grappling with uncomfortable political consequences of the tariffs Trump wants to impose.
Douglas Irwin: Why Trump's Tariff Plans Are Dangerous
The trade economist details the most alarming protectionist policies proposed by the incoming Trump administration.
