Despite the best efforts of Ambassador Tai and others, it’s time for our lawmakers and the administration to take punitive action and address Mexico’s blatant disregard of the trade agreement.
The 118th Congress (2023-2024) is easily the best Congress we’ve had in the 21st century when it comes to tariff policy. U.S. Senators in particular are introducing new tariff bills for different products and industries.
“We are seeing a new consensus on trade. A lot of credit goes to President Trump and a lot of it goes to a bunch of working class Democrats,” Robert Lighthizer said at the first-ever Prosperity Summit.
Rep. Adrian Smith of the House Ways and Means trade subcommittee says the Generalized System of Preferences will be renewed, with retroactive tariff refunds worth billions.
Section 201 solar safeguard tariffs were supposed to ruin the solar business and completely stall deployment of solar on rooftops and vacant fields controlled by electric utility companies. But according to a U.S. government report, they did nothing of the sort.
China recently became the world’s largest car exporter, and by all accounts their global market share will keep expanding. One silver lining, at least, is that more and more leaders are figuring out that absent tariff increases, our nation will become a slave to foreign nations that do prioritize production.
The Wall Street Journal has started 2024 bemoaning tariffs. They are for losers, the WSJ Inside View columnist Andy Kessler wrote in December, ending 2023 with a taste of what is expected to come this year, an election year.
The success of the washing machine tariffs shows that “tariff-jumping investment,” i.e. inducing domestic industry growth via tariffs is a viable strategy for the U.S. in industries that have suffered decline.
Washing machine tariffs were a success, as measured by over 2,000 new jobs, more competition, no sustained effect on washing machine prices and economic stimulus with the construction of new factories.