President Donald Trump's justifications for tariffs keep shifting—one moment they're to cut the flow of illegal drugs and immigrants, the next, they're to bolster American businesses and jobs. But the argument that seems to resonate most with the public is that they will result in a stronger and more competitive U.S. economy. Economists aren't convinced, to put it mildly. The fact is that American government is often the biggest impediment to the workers and employers that politicians claim to be helping.
"Large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits have led to the hollowing out of our manufacturing base [and] resulted in a lack of incentive to increase advanced domestic manufacturing capacity," Trump argued in an April 2 executive order imposing stiff tariffs on most of the planet. "President Trump is working to level the playing field for American businesses and workers by confronting the unfair tariff disparities and non-tariff barriers imposed by other countries."
