“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is ‘tariff’”. No prizes for guessing who made this remark. As Donald Trump prepares to announce reciprocal tariffs on April 2, the world is gripped by anxiety. He is calling it Liberation Day, a day when the US will be freed from its reliance on foreign goods.
No one knows what to expect. Stock markets are swinging sharply worldwide.
The trade war has shaken up America’s allies, with governments scrambling to come up with countermeasures. While Trump’s policy positions have exhibited variability, particularly on contentious social issues such as abortion, his core belief that the United States is subject to economic exploitation by international entities has remained a constant. Trump has been talking about tariffs long before returning to the White House.
His firm belief in the efficacy of tariffs as a solution has persisted, notwithstanding the arguments presented by his political opponents and numerous economists, who contend that US consumers will bear the burden of increased prices as importers pass on the added costs. But how did the tariff saga begin?
Content retrieved from: https://www.firstpost.com/explainers/how-did-trump-come-to-be-known-as-the-tariff-man-13876263.html.
