President Donald Trump justifies his enthusiasm for prohibitively high tariffs by insisting the U.S. is being "ripped off" by other countries. It's a strange argument, since people only trade with one another if they see benefit in the deal. But the president is right to complain that other governments impose trade barriers of their own that are often every bit as burdensome as the high taxes Americans pay on imports. If foreign officials honestly wish to restore something like free trade, they should emphasize dropping their own barriers in return for lower U.S. levies. Case in point: Canada, which sends three-quarters of its exports across its southern border but imposes damaging restrictions on imports.
Soviet-Style Trade Barriers to the North
In a February proclamation of trade war on the world, Trump announced, "the United States will no longer tolerate being ripped off" and complained that "our trading partners keep their markets closed to U.S. exports." The first part of that claim is silly. But the second part has a kernel of truth.
