Trump's Tariffs Will Unearth Some Very Rusty Nails

As the old joke goes, those who wield only hammers see every problem as a nail. And the Trump tariff threat is a hammer par excellence, having been directed toward Mexico in terms of reducing the flow of central American emigrants toward the southern U.S. border. The view of many that this threat “succeeded” is heavily myopic, and the longer-term damage will be real; as discussed below, the only way to limit it will be to finalize and implement the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement.