Trump’s Tariff Drama
Trump’s thoughts on tariffs have been well-known for years—he loves tariffs. He enjoys intimidating other countries with tariffs, imposing them, and waging trade wars. Before becoming president, he was threatening both Canada and Mexico—his neighbors—saying things like, “We should make Canada the 51st state.” Within just two weeks of becoming president, he announced the imposition of 25% tariffs.
Some might compare his policies to those of mercantilists. Mercantilists believe that exports are good and imports are bad, arguing that a country should increase its exports as much as possible and reduce its imports as much as it can. These ideas were widespread from 1500 to 1750, but after that, especially after that Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, in which he wrote that trade between nations benefits everyone, mercantilist ideas began to decline significantly in Europe.
However, Trump is not a mercantilist. Trump sees tariffs not as an economic tool, but as a political tool. He wants to use tariffs to make “deals” and to assert his influence. He does it simply to show that he can do it. In the past few hours, Trump held talks with Canada’s Prime Minister and Mexico’s President, and they agreed to postpone tariffs for 30 days. In exchange, the Mexican President agreed to send 10,000 troops to the Mexico-U.S. border, and the Canadian Prime Minister promised to implement a $1.3 billion border project with 10,000 workers. After these agreements, the tariffs were temporarily postponed for 30 days.
It seems like American politics has entered a phase of dramas that surpass even K-dramas in intensity.
@javohirakramov
Trump’s thoughts on tariffs have been well-known for years—he loves tariffs. He enjoys intimidating other countries with tariffs, imposing them, and waging trade wars. Before becoming president, he was threatening both Canada and Mexico—his neighbors—saying things like, “We should make Canada the 51st state.” Within just two weeks of becoming president, he announced the imposition of 25% tariffs.
Some might compare his policies to those of mercantilists. Mercantilists believe that exports are good and imports are bad, arguing that a country should increase its exports as much as possible and reduce its imports as much as it can. These ideas were widespread from 1500 to 1750, but after that, especially after that Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, in which he wrote that trade between nations benefits everyone, mercantilist ideas began to decline significantly in Europe.
However, Trump is not a mercantilist. Trump sees tariffs not as an economic tool, but as a political tool. He wants to use tariffs to make “deals” and to assert his influence. He does it simply to show that he can do it. In the past few hours, Trump held talks with Canada’s Prime Minister and Mexico’s President, and they agreed to postpone tariffs for 30 days. In exchange, the Mexican President agreed to send 10,000 troops to the Mexico-U.S. border, and the Canadian Prime Minister promised to implement a $1.3 billion border project with 10,000 workers. After these agreements, the tariffs were temporarily postponed for 30 days.
It seems like American politics has entered a phase of dramas that surpass even K-dramas in intensity.
@javohirakramov