Beech Tree News Network

Whenever a weather system is approaching, everyone becomes a meteorologist.  When tariffs and taxes are prominent in the news, everyone is an economist. I've been guilty of doing the same.  Heck, this column is a perfect example of the phenomenon I'm describing.  

President Donald J. Trump is a gambler by nature. To be sure, he is a gambler who fancies taking calculated risks.  That is precisely what he is doing with the imposition of tariffs on countries that the president insists is taking unfair advantage of the United States when it comes to trade and access to markets.  It seems to me that a fair analysis of the U.S. economy and its accompanying policies over the last four decades or so suggests he is likely correct.  Remember Ross Perot's warning of a "giant sucking sound" that would be the result of various "free trade" deals the U.S. began negotiating in the 1990s?

 I was never a fan of Perot and, like many folks, bought on to the promise of lower market barriers and the freedom of trade concept.  However, it has become increasingly clear over the years that what many economists, Wall Street experts, and corporate boards considered "free" wasn't necessarily "fair."  Many global companies profited nicely for sure and the American consumer, to be fair, benefitted from lower prices on many products - if you don't mind child labor and the exploitation of a depressed workforce, of course.  However, for American workers and the manufacturing base of this country the consequences have been stark.  Over the past three decades, the U.S. has hemorrhaged manufacturing jobs and communities have been devastated by companies leaving the country and taking jobs with them.  

To be blunt, the U.S. has practically sacrificed entire industries on the altar of low consumer prices and shoddy Chinese goods.  The supply chain issues during the COVID pandemic revealed much of this.  How dumb can a nation be if it has to depend heavily on a foreign adversary for its pharmaceuticals? 

FOX News host Jesse Waters recently described the situation perfectly:  "They moved factories out of the country, used dirt-cheap foreign labor to sell the product back into the country with no tariff, and made a killing."

So, President Trump is attempting a significant reset of the U.S. economy and essentially the global economy as well, hence the strategy of using tariffs as an economic weapon on behalf of American workers.  It is long overdue.  A great country that wants to remain strong and prosperous must once again prioritize manufacturing and negotiate trade deals that reflect this reality.  There are risks, especially in the short term as markets react and prices may increase on some items.  However, it is a fight worth fighting and President Trump seems prepared to stay the course.  Don't underestimate him. That mistake has been made before.       

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