Inside Out | Trump’s tariffs on China have cost the US, but they look likely to stay
- In his recently released book, Donald Trump’s trade chief champions more protectionism despite continuing reports of the damage caused by the tariffs so far
- Unfortunately, the possibility of Trump in the White House again means the odds are against a withdrawal of these trade barriers
For trade liberals who have celebrated the global good arising from seven decades of falling tariff barriers – in particular the significant role this played in lifting hundreds of millions of people worldwide out of grinding poverty – there can be no arch nemesis more hauntingly remembered than Robert Lighthizer.
For trade, that meant imports were bad, exports were good and a trade surplus is essential; that plucky US entrepreneurs were pitched in a relentless, unfair battle against devious foreign cheats; that countries which cut tariffs and opened their markets were doomed to lose.
He believes the US should build tariff walls higher and restrict inward and outward investment. He wants China to be stripped of its normal trade status. He concedes this will impose costs on the US, but insists that these moves are needed to curb China’s rise and to rebuild US manufacturing.