Trump’s Tariffs Represent a Mix of Corrupt Corporate Favors and Utter Chaos
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, President Trump announced 10% universal tariffs on all imported goods, a 25% tariff on all foreign-made automobiles, and much higher so-called “reciprocal” tariffs on 60 countries.
Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen, issued the following statement:
“There’s a sensible role for tariffs in national economic policy, but there’s nothing sensible about Trump’s reckless and non-strategic tariffs, which are likely to spur significant economic chaos and harm all of us.
“It’s almost unfathomable that Trump just announced a unilateral, massive tariff system for the rest of the world and yet there’s no clarity on what the tariffs actually are and far, far less clarity on how the tariff levels were generated.
“The tariffs Trump claimed are imposed on U.S. exports are actually some magical stew of numbers that include many non-tariff factors, likely including regulatory and intellectual property rules that offend Big Tech and Big Pharma. It will take some time to sort out what just happened, but we may have just witnessed Trump carrying water for the biggest U.S. corporations behind a fig leaf of protecting American workers.
“If Trump cared about protecting workers, he’d pair strategic tariffs with domestic manufacturing investment, stop mega-corporations from price-gouging consumers, and encourage other countries to adopt trade policies that help workers and consumers. But he does not and he has not.
“Trump cronies are keen to insist that the tariffs must be considered as part of the administration’s overall economic policy. On this point, they are exactly correct. Trump’s economic policies are an equal mix of corrupt payoffs to the billionaire and corporate class, and utter chaos.
“Where sensible tariff policy would combine strategic tariffs with support for public and private investment in key sectors, Trump is actively de-investing in many of the most vital sectors — biomedical research, support for basic science and clean and affordable energy technologies and products. Where sensible trade policy would include enforcement of strong labor standards in other countries that undercut U.S. workers, Trump’s team just slashed all of the Department of Labor’s efforts to combat child labor and other egregious labor rights violations around the world.
“Where sensible economic policy should address the nation’s appalling income and wealth inequality and put more power in workers’ hands, Trump is literally planning the opposite. His schemes to provide tax cuts for billionaires and corporations; strip away health care, food support and other vital services for the most vulnerable Americans; undermine Social Security; and decertify and undermine the power of labor unions will all serve to deepen and entrench oligarchy and widespread economic pain.
“Trump’s touted plans for ‘deregulation’ amount to nothing more than permitting corporations even greater latitude to pollute, rip off the public and engage in predatory activities of all kinds.
“On top of all this, Trump’s attacks on the rule of law are already unsettling investors, who are questioning the firmament of America’s economic foundations.
“If he’s allowed to proceed with his plans, we already know how things will turn out: A much richer billionaire and corporate class, a much weaker overall economy and an impoverished majority. There’s no reason for Americans to accept this fate.”