Re: Trump accidentally wrecks his own tariff spin
Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2025 9:20 am
"This week, Trump announced that he’s imposing a 25 percent tariff on all imported vehicles and parts. Experts say this will raise auto prices by many thousands of dollars: tariffs on imported vehicles are a tax on their consumption, and tariffs on parts will make it more expensive to manufacture vehicles here.
Earlier this week, however, Trump declared that because his tariffs will cause an explosion of auto-manufacturing here, “you’re going to see prices going down.” Trump knows that’s false: He wouldn’t warn companies this way if prices were set to drop.
What’s critical is that this shows he knows why his tariffs will raise prices. He knows they’ll boost costs on those doing the importing (buyers) and on those making things with imported parts (manufacturers). That wrecks his claim that other countries will pay the tariffs. And Trump also said the following to CEOs who might raise prices:
Instead, Trump said, they should be grateful for his elimination of what he called former President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle mandate, which involved subsidies and emissions requirements to encourage electric-car production.
What all this underscores is that there’s no coherent conception of the national interest at work behind any of this.'
Earlier this week, however, Trump declared that because his tariffs will cause an explosion of auto-manufacturing here, “you’re going to see prices going down.” Trump knows that’s false: He wouldn’t warn companies this way if prices were set to drop.
What’s critical is that this shows he knows why his tariffs will raise prices. He knows they’ll boost costs on those doing the importing (buyers) and on those making things with imported parts (manufacturers). That wrecks his claim that other countries will pay the tariffs. And Trump also said the following to CEOs who might raise prices:
Instead, Trump said, they should be grateful for his elimination of what he called former President Joe Biden’s electric-vehicle mandate, which involved subsidies and emissions requirements to encourage electric-car production.
What all this underscores is that there’s no coherent conception of the national interest at work behind any of this.'