Trump Tariffs Betray GOP Promises To Voters

In the platform they revealed last month ahead of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, the GOP proposed to expand tariffs to protect American workers and bring back manufacturing. Yet, tariffs conflict with a couple of other promises made throughout the platform, most significantly ending inflation and making our military stronger than ever before. President Trump should be pursuing — not chasing away — foreign investments and partners to reassure voters that an America under his presidency would be a global economic force.

Donald Trump has long made tariffs a major part of his political brand, making claims that America was getting ripped off in trade deals with countries like China, Canada, and Mexico. Not only that, but Trump and others believe that tariffs on imports will protect manufacturing jobs from moving overseas. In their defense, the data backs this up, as manufacturing jobs dropped from over 19 million in 1979 to less than 7 million in 2019. However, Trump is missing an opportunity to establish the Republican Party as the party of liberty. While much of its platform is focused on expanding freedom, tariffs and other trade restrictions make it harder for Trump to contrast the GOP’s image with that of the Democrats. Pivoting to free trade not only benefits the American people, it allows the GOP to present itself favorably in comparison.

Free trade with other nations has provided many positives to Americans. The most obvious benefit is the variety of goods that Americans can enjoy at cheaper prices and with greater variety. Another benefit of free trade is what it does for companies that still manufacture goods in the United States. The Bureau of Economic Analysis found that more than half of imports are materials used by businesses to produce other goods.

Tariffs indirectly increase costs for U.S. companies by reducing their number of sources for raw materials. Companies have fewer choices, and the incentive is reduced for competitors to keep lower prices. If you can’t take your money elsewhere, a business has less reason to keep prices down. These costs are passed on to American consumers who must pay higher prices than they otherwise would. This predictable outcome of tariffs directly opposes another promise of the Trump Campaign — to reduce the cost of living by lowering inflation. Tariffs by their very nature cause prices to go up. If President Trump wants to help working Americans, imposing trade regulations that would force them to spend more of their paycheck is not the way to do it.

Economics is not the only reason why the GOP should reject tariffs. The party has also promised to establish the U.S. military once again as the greatest in the world. To be the best, Congress should make sure the military has the best equipment and therefore the best material to build its equipment. Tariffs not only limit the sources of material for military equipment, but they also keep costs higher than they need to be. Money spent on raw materials is money that is not spent on research, training, and well-deserved pay increases for our men and women in uniform.

Far from imposing tariffs, Congress should work to expand free trade. One good way to start is to repeal the Jones Act. This law requires trade done by water be conducted on ships built in the U.S., owned by Americans, and crewed by Americans. While intended to help the U.S. shipbuilding industry, the actual effect of the Jones Act has been to make sure ships aren’t replaced when they go out of service. The result has been an increase in shipping costs and fewer ships involved in maritime shipping.

If the GOP continues down this road of overregulation, they will betray their conservative principles, most clearly articulated in the Freedom Conservatism statement of principles. To set itself apart from the Democrats, the Republican Party should brand itself as the party of individual liberty and economic freedom. When Congress does things like pass tariffs and other taxes, it not only raises the costs of living, it makes us less free. That is something the Republican Party should reject wholeheartedly.