Stop the Tariff Madness

President Trump this morning tweeted, “Tariffs are the greatest!” He added that a country that he deems has “treated the United States unfairly” on trade should negotiate a fair deal or it will get hit with tariffs. “Remember, we are the ‘piggy bank’ that’s being robbed.”

With all due respect, he is exceedingly wrong. Tariffs are taxes, and there is nothing great about them. Kevin Brady, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, recently said, “Tariffs are taxes. Lower is better and zero is always the best.” The father of modern economics, Adam Smith, explained this concept in “The Wealth of Nations,” writing, “In every country it always is and must be the interest of the great body of the people to buy whatever they want of those who sell it cheapest.”