During the campaign, Donald Trump promised sweeping tariffs on other countries, particularly China. He then told his crowds at rallies, “It’s not going to be a cost to you, it’s going to be a cost to another country.” That is not, Ali Velshi explains, how tariffs work.
A tariff is a tax on imported goods, and it is paid for by the importer. When an American company imports goods from overseas that are subject to tariffs, that company pays that tax. The cost of that good is increased; consequently, the consumer’s price increases. In addition, countries seeing their exports cost more in America will, of course, make sure American imports cost more in their country, exacerbating the costs to the American consumer (like what happened with soy in the last Trump administration).
Tariffs are neither good nor bad; they’re a tool of international trade that, when applied strategically, remedies trade imbalances, protects specific domestic industries, and influences relations between countries with respect to human rights and fair labor practices.
The American economy is one of the strongest in the world right now, but Trump’s campaign pushed the narrative that it is not, and of course, his campaign contributor and now “administration member” Elon Musk directly benefits from tariffs on Chinese goods in particular. While trade policymaking should be humble, nuanced and careful, Trump’s policymaking is decidedly not.
