More: Auto tariffs, to the tune of 25 percent, go into effect Thursday. Tomorrow, President Donald Trump will announce more tariffs in an address in the Rose Garden; he terms these "reciprocal" since they'll purportedly be based on how much those countries tax our goods when they enter.
"I couldn't care less if they raise prices, because people are going to start buying American-made cars," Trump said on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday in response to fears of price increases on cars. "We may have, short term, a little pain," said the president when he imposed the 25 percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. "People understand that. But long term, the United States has been ripped off by virtually every country in the world," said Trump, citing trade deficits as the problem.
"Access to cheap goods is not the essence of the American dream," said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a speech to the Economic Club of New York last month. The administration keeps hitting the same notes: Prices will go up, and you'll like it, dammit. Or at least: Prices will go up, and it's for a good reason.
