Tariffs are Trump’s favorite plaything – and his justifications are absurd | Steven Greenhouse
📰 source: theguardian_business · 💼 business
trump signed orders imposing a 50% tariff on many canadian goods and across-the-board tariffs of 10% to 12.5% on goods from more than 80 countries. he used a never-before-used provision of the smoot-hawley tariff act to justify the canada tariffs, citing canada's retaliation against his earlier tariffs — like the liquor import ban from 11 provinces. he also claimed canada's 25% tariff on select us-made cars was discrimination. for the broader tariffs, trump cited forced labor, though his administration cut over $500 million from labor department efforts against forced labor.
the yale budget lab estimates these tariffs will cost the average us household $1,100 per year. the us has lost 75,000 factory jobs since trump returned to office, and the tariffs are expected to worsen affordability concerns. ontario premier doug ford said 'we won't back down' and demanded the us drop its illegal tariffs. critics say trump's newfound concern for forced labor rings hollow given his record on worker protections.
why it matters: new tariffs will raise prices for us households and worsen affordability, with potential political fallout for republicans ahead of midterms.
source: theguardian_business
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