by Kenneth Rapoza for Newsweek Despite support for tariffs among American voters, many career Republican politicians still oppose this vital policy tool while they cling
In recent years, tariffs have been at the center of heated Washington debate. Critics claim that tariffs are a “hidden sales tax” passed on to consumers in the form of higher prices. But in the wake of the 2018 “Trump tariffs,” America’s consumers haven’t experienced noticeable price increases.
To craft a pro-America trade and economic agenda, Harris should pledge to increase overall tariffs, use tax credits more broadly to grow critical production, and ignore Wall Street’s call to return to the failed trade policies of the past.
In a recent speech at the New York Economic Club, and again during Tuesday’s debate against Kamala Harris, Donald Trump revived one of his signature policy proposals: tariffs as a powerful tool to revive American industry, protect jobs, and generate revenue for the federal government.
For more than two years, domestic steel producers have been urging the Biden administration to act on Mexico’s steel surge. But despite Mexico’s clear breaching of the agreement for several years, the Biden administration chose to negotiate rather than enforce a standing international agreement.
We need to protect our industrial base, invest in infrastructure, and sell more in our wealthy home market. A twenty-first-century version of the American System isn’t just desirable—it’s essential.
