This essay was posted on 5/15/25.
Donald Trump continues to push tariffs in an up and down 90-day cycle that is hard to justify. When Trump invokes tariffs, the stock market drops, businesses raise prices, and store inventories are threatened. So, Trump pauses tariffs for 90 days, letting the stock market and the economy return to a more normal state, until the next cycle.
Experts say that widespread tariffs create higher prices, broken supply chains, reduced economic growth, retaliatory tariffs from other countries, and lots of uncertainty. Making tariffs the major economic tool can’t be a good idea. So, what is in it for Trump?
A better question: What’s in it for the Republican Party? In 2023, Republicans proposed a national 30% sales tax that would be administered by the states. The proposal failed for many reasons. Sales tax is regressive. At 30% it would be inflationary. Administration by each of the 50 states would be a bureaucratic nightmare. And there was a lot of opposition. So, the bill went nowhere.
Project 2025 called for a consumption tax that would replace the income tax, but a national sales tax failed miserably. It is no surprise that tariffs became Trump’s path forward. Tariffs are administered by the Federal Government. The equivalence to a sales tax is real but not obvious. And Trump can set tariffs at his own discretion as long as Congress lets him. Widespread tariffs are just as harmful to the economy as a national sales tax, but the Federal Government can maintain control over tariffs no matter how many people oppose the idea.
Don’t just blame Trump for the tariff mess. Also blame the Republican Party and the Heritage Foundation. The tariff problem is a group effort.
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