Krugman writes: "Donald Trump's declaration that 'trade wars are good, and easy to win' will surely go down in the history books as a classic utterance - but not in a good way."
Economist Paul Krugman. (photo: Forbes)
Trump Is Losing His Trade Wars
06 July 19
The pain is real, but the coercion isn’t.
onald Trump’s declaration that “trade wars are good, and easy to win” will surely go down in the history books as a classic utterance — but not in a good way. Instead it will go alongside Dick Cheney’s prediction, on the eve of the Iraq war, that “we will, in fact, be welcomed as liberators.” That is, it will be used to illustrate the arrogance and ignorance that so often drives crucial policy decisions.
For the reality is that Trump isn’t winning his trade wars. True, his tariffs have hurt China and other foreign economies. But they’ve hurt America too; economists at the New York Fed estimate that the average household will end up paying more than $1,000 a yearin higher prices.
And there’s no hint that the tariffs are achieving Trump’s presumed goal, which is to pressure other countries into making significant policy changes.
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