Tariffs are a blunt instrument, not a painless panacea

Robert Lighthizer presents a compelling case against adherence to past US free trade policies and the use of tariffs as a policy tool (“Trump’s trade measures reflect a troubling reality in America,” OpinionNovember 1).

I am a former trade official, and Lighthizer was a guest lecturer at one of my seminars after he was a US Trade Representative. I was influenced by his strong belief that tariffs are justified when our lower trade barriers coexist with predatory industrial subsidy policies from export-oriented trading partners.

Yes, let us not rely unquestioningly on the previous “free trade” policies and assumptions of perfect competition made by classical economists in the face of the calculatedly strategic trade and industrial policies adopted by China. We must actively seek “fair and balance” and help American businesses and workers in the global trading system. For example, the current threat of Chinese electric vehicle dumping merits a targeted tariff response.

At the same time, one should not be under the illusion that tariffs are a panacea without pain and problems. Tariffs are still a tax and prices will rise. They will threaten American consumers’ access to affordable, high-quality products and services, as well as essential goods from around the world.

Moreover, we should not tar all of our trading partners with the same brush. Vital national relationships are at stake, as are business networks that benefit all Americans. Widespread use of tariffs would suppress global economic growth and provoke a tit-for-tat response. Like all wars, trade wars have unintended consequences.

There is a real danger in using the blunt instrument of tariffs and protectionist thinking. The American public has fallen victim to a cynical cycle of political manipulation and over-promising to frustrated workers in Electoral College swing states. The Trump administration’s aggressive protectionism in its first term led to the Biden administration’s trade policy freeze. We have already fallen by the wayside, not pursuing mutually beneficial trade agreements. We cannot afford to withdraw from the global trading system while the rest of the world ponders how to proceed without American leadership.

Charles J. Scuba
Honored Professor of Practice
McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University
Washington, DC, USA