President-elect Donald Trump caught many by surprise this week when he announced plans to install far-reaching tariffs of 25% on Mexico and Canada and increase existing tariffs on goods imported from China by an additional 10% on his first day in office. During the campaign, “tariff man” had promised to enact such broad-based tariffs to increase federal revenues and punish countries for taking advantage of the U.S. through trade.
Even if these are mere negotiating tactics, with a U.S. economy at full employment and strong growth, no one knows exactly what is driving these slapdowns on trading partners and what goals Trump hopes to achieve. This will surely be the role of his new cabinet members as they join Trump in navigating the already historically strong economy being handed to him.
