During the campaign trail leading up to the 2024 presidential election, President Donald Trump called tariffs the greatest thing ever invented, according to PBS.
On March 12, the self-proclaimed “Tariff Man” held true to his promise and established a 25% tariff on all foreign aluminum and steel imports, with additional tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada going into effect earlier this month, according to NBC.
As a consequence, several nations have retaliated with their own tariffs on the US.
The White House stated Trump’s tariffs will demand Canada, Mexico and China hold true to their unfulfilled promise of halting illegal immigration and the entry of illicit drugs into the U.S. Similarly, the president is employing the steel and aluminum tariff as a bargaining tool to pressure nations participating in unfair trade practices and for the benefit of the U.S.
For instance, Trump promised to remove all tariffs on Canada if it agreed to join the U.S. as the “Fifty First State.”
Earlier this year at the World Economic Forum, Trump claimed that there would be no better place to grow companies, factories and workforces than in the U.S., referring to his plan to use tariffs to bolster domestic industries and decrease reliance on imported goods.
Contrary to Trump’s optimism about a tariff-fueled future, economists like Rodney Sullivan at the University of Virginia are worried that if the tariffs are not reversed, the U.S. and its international counterparts will see vanishing jobs and rising consumer prices.
Domestic purchasers of metal are likely to start paying the price of their own tariffs, according to the Library of Economics and Liberty. With foreign prices out of reach as a result of tariffs, American metal industries have taken the liberties to escalate domestic prices at the expense of American businesses.
Furthermore, domestic production of aluminum will be inherently more expensive than foreign supplies. Electricity, necessary for aluminum production, is considerably more expensive in the U.S. compared to Canada, which supplies 75% of America’s aluminum. Therefore, American industries and downstream consumers will face higher prices everywhere, from aluminum beer cans to automobiles. Higher prices and suffering businesses were certainly not a part of Trump’s campaign promises.
It is also uncertain whether these tariffs will result in the desired effects in international markets and relationships. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. imports only 8% of globally produced steel. While major exporters might feel the effects, it seems unlikely that the retaliation of a single customer will make waves in the global economy.
Even though major trade partners have felt negative effects from the tariffs, their immediate response is not to increase measures against illegal immigration and drug imports into the U.S. as Trump had hoped. Instead, the nations promised to return the economic attack without succumbing to Trump’s coercions.
As a consequence, Canada and China have quickly placed retaliatory tariffs on the U.S., leading to a rapidly progressing trade war with equally chaotic effects on the American stock market. According to CNBC, China’s tariffs are on goods ranging from American coffee to appliances.
We are once again handing ourselves the short-end of the stick — not only will American prices be higher due to the cost of domestic production, but retaliatory tariffs will further diminish the competitive edge of American goods in global markets.
In the words of economist Erica York, “a tax on imports is effectively a tax on exports.”
Wisconsin is likely to face the brunt of these retaliatory tariffs, which are specifically targeting U.S. agriculture and manufacturing industries. These sectors hold 10% of Wisconsin’s jobs, the largest share of all states, according to WPR. In fact, there are already reports of companies putting a hold on production, research and development, hiring, and spending in general.
Several GOP members have expressed concerns in alignment with the Democratic Party’s critical response regarding the newly established tariffs. For instance, in a recent press release, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., strongly criticized Trump’s retreat from the global economy and spoke out about the negative effects his actions will have on the workforce.
“We live in a global economy,” the press release stated. “We do not have the luxury of deciding whether or not we wish to compete.”
Similarly, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., attempted to rally fellow Republican senators in favor of free trade agreements that he believes are now under threat, according to Time.
At a time in which party divides are at an all time high, it is admirable that Johnson and Paul have broken party lines to stand up for their constituents and against the decisions made by the leader of their political party.
Concerns against tariffs are an increasingly bipartisan issue — 90% of Democrats and nearly 60% of Republicans expressed their worries in a mid-March survey conducted by The Guardian. As such, representatives cannot remain silent and ignore their constituents’ concerns, no matter which political party they align with.
But regardless of their true feelings about Trump’s trade policies, House Republicans have revoked their own ability to block the tariffs. In a recent move, House GOP members voted to remove the ability of Congress to block Trump’s Canada and Mexico tariffs, according to Reuters. Rep. Suzane DelBene, D-Wash. had sponsored a challenge to these tariffs, which was set to be addressed later this month, but through this new move, GOP representatives have essentially removed a check on the executive branch’s trade power.
This move calls for representatives to stand up for the wellbeing of the people they represent rather than prioritizing their commitment to their political party.
Unauthorized immigration and the entry of illicit drugs are without a doubt serious issues, but there must be a way out other than further punishing our own constituents. American industries and workforces will be caught in the crossfires of the tariffs, and it is more urgent than ever that our representatives do not silence themselves. They must prove their dedication not to their political party, but rather to their people.
