For decades, U.S. politicians have sold free trade agreements as a beacon of prosperity for the American economy. The logic was tidy: “Most of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S.—so if we open foreign markets, prosperity will follow.” On paper, it sounded plausible. But in practice, it became one of the most costly economic miscalculations in our modern history.
A Market Access Charge (MAC) might be the perfect addition to the tariff agenda; a surgical tool to tax capital inflows.
The CPA Domestic Market Share Index (DMSI) dropped abruptly in the first quarter of 2025 as the massive pre-tariff import surge driven by stockpiling heavily outweighed current U.S. manufacturing output.
Following April’s trade deficit data, which showed a complete freefall in trade during the “Liberation Day” tariff month, May’s trade deficit rose by 18.7% on a monthly basis to $71.5 billion, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
Importers slowed their buying frenzy that occurred prior to the ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs and now April’s trade figures show a not-surprising 16.3% drop for the month to $351 billion.
Decades of misguided trade policies have transformed the United States into the world’s consumer of last resort, absorbing the world’s excess savings at the expense of its manufacturing sector. U.S.-imposed tariffs are the first step towards rebalancing the system, but they aren’t sufficient.
Importers continued to front-run the April ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs in March, sending the overall trade deficit up 14% over February numbers to $140.5 billion for the month, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Tuesday.
Feeding America with abundant, healthy, locally-produced food is as important as any trade or industrial goal. Reinforcing our capacity to feed ourselves makes the nation stronger, safer, and more prosperous, whole the Big Ag status quo blindly follows a globalized model that has left far too many American farms behind.
Imports did not vanish, but their growth rate was flat at zero percent in February compared to January after nearly two months of importers rushing in orders ahead of tariffs. February goods and services imports were $401 billion, a statistically insignificant change from January, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said.
It’s a straight line up. The goods and services deficit kicked off January by rising a record 34% over December. Importers are front running tariffs and getting in their orders before everything changes, likely at some point after April 1.
