Elections have consequences, and those consequences are dire for the free-market dogmatists of the Republican Party.
The tariff debate is over. President Donald Trump won, but it wasn't even close. Americans overwhelmingly support efforts to punish countries like China for their unfair trade practices. Even President Joe Biden, who blatantly misrepresented President Trump's economic performance, has maintained Trump tariffs on steel and aluminum.
In the run-up to the election, propaganda attacks against President Trump's tariffs dominated traditional media. According to elitist thinking, tariffs are devastating consumption taxvehemently opposed by votersdevastating for the economyharmful to the poorstock market poison. (Related: Morgan Murphy: Trump can't leave neocons alone)
nominally conservative Think tanks and libertarian ideologues senator rand paul (R-Ky.) shamefully joined Democrats in demonizing Trump's economic populism. Their criticism fails to see the forest for the trees. Tariffs are not just economic policy. They are the mechanisms that can rebuild the American system and end globalist hegemony.
Tariffs once made America great. as pointed out by Former President Nixon speechwriter Pat Buchanan built America into an economic powerhouse and established a middle class during an era of protectionism. Gross domestic product quadrupled during the protectionist era from 1869 to 1900. There were regular budget surpluses, debt was virtually non-existent, and deflation allowed working families to become increasingly prosperous.
Tariffs are in the DNA of the American Republic. The Tariff Act of 1789 was a seminal American legislative achievement, and even the staunchest free traders among the Founding Fathers, such as Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, recognized the need for tariffs. I was there. Freedom and independence are lofty and noble ideals, but they cannot be maintained without a national policy that supports domestic industry from outside intervention.
Tariffs are a national security priority because pure economic efficiency is held sacrosanct by free market zealots, and foreigners must never be held hostage by American citizens. Economics should not be a religion, and if we need to disrupt markets to a limited extent to improve society, so be it.
To be honest, that market is clearly neither “free” nor “fair.” China subsidizes state-owned enterprises that are losing billions, creating obvious distortions that even the most dogmatic economists agree must be addressed. Let's take a look at China's environmental standards. China allows its industries to pollute recklessly because it knows it gives it an unfair advantage. flat libertarian demigod Milton Friedman acknowledged that environmental pollution is the most obvious example of market failure that must be addressed. To address these market failures, we need to do more than just increase tariffs.
Trade policies that hold China accountable for highly contaminated products would level the playing field for U.S. manufacturing and should be a top priority for Republicans. It's already supported by President Trump Office of the United States Trade RepresentativeSo all that remains is for Republicans in Congress to get on board with Trump's tariff policy.
President Trump has put tariffs back on the map, and these policies are central to his MAGA revolution. The Harris campaign's labeling of the tariff as a “national sales tax” failed spectacularly on the campaign trail and was wisely rejected by voters.
As companies realize that their outsourcing policies are negatively impacting their bottom line, they will inevitably seek a seat at the table to do business. John Deere famously did this. This is due to President Trump's aggressive trade policies. China is catching up with the US, but the US market remains move the world for the time being. Now is the time to use American market power to level the playing field while it still exists. Tariffs are a tool to achieve that noble goal.
The goal of MAGA conservatives, encouraged by Mr. Trump's overwhelming electoral power, should be permanent tariffs that limit the government's ability to finance their tariffs. Trump likes the idea, doubling down on his own suggestion: probably income tax It should be abolished and replaced with tariffs.
This is a development that will make even staunch free-market libertarians salivate. Tariffs are the only real and proven trade policy to disrupt the current economic order.
Those who are unwilling to accept the Trump Tariff Party, a Republican Party that can actually maintain American prosperity and economic supremacy on the world stage, should be consigned to the dustbin of history where they belong.
Gavin M. Wax is executive director of the National Constitution Law Alliance. He also serves as the 76th president of the Young Republican Club of New York and an ambassador for Turning Point USA and Live Action.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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