President Donald Trump is sticking with his tariffs despite higher prices, criticism from trade experts and growing voter displeasure less than a month before the Nov. 3 midterms, The Associated Press reported.
A recent poll found most U.S. adults disapprove of his trade policies, with more than 64% saying he has gone too far with his latest tariffs, compared with 58% in January, according to the AP.
Trump’s broadest tariffs last year relied on a 1977 economic emergency law. After the Supreme Court struck that down in February, the administration turned to other trade laws.
The main tool now is Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, which allows tariffs on countries the administration finds engaging in unfair trade practices. The new duties range from 10% to 12.5% on imports from 60 economies, including the European Union, India, Japan, Canada and Mexico, the AP reported.
Many mainstream economists say the open global trading system has benefited the U.S. by boosting growth and keeping prices low. Studies, including from the New York Fed and Harvard, found foreign companies largely have not cut prices to offset tariffs, leaving U.S. businesses to absorb the costs or pass them to consumers, according to the AP.
The White House says a factory boom is underway, pointing to rising manufacturing jobs and nonresidential construction. “Factory construction jobs of today mean more manufacturing jobs down the road once those factories come online,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said.
Supporters of tariffs note that nearly 3 million U.S. manufacturing jobs were lost in the four years after China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001, and that some countries manipulate currencies or subsidize industries.
But before the trade war, U.S. tariffs on EU goods averaged 1.47%, slightly above the EU’s 1.35% average on American products, according to the Brussels think tank Bruegel.
Sources: KTAR News/AP. Thee Arizona Times uses AI-assisted reporting reviewed against the sources listed.
Photo: Captain Albert E. Theberge, NOAA Corps (ret.) / Public domain via Wikimedia Commons.
