As usual, the "experts" in the mainstream media are reacting to an initiative by President Trump in an understated, intellectually coherent manner. The President's word that he is about to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum entering the USA is generally described by these "experts" as "ECONOMIC SUICIDE!!!!!!!!" In other words, it's all frantic screaming, all the time. But let's consider just one piece of what the President has said. Trump contends that since the USA has such big trade deficits with the rest of the world, a trade war would be easy to win. Does that make sense?
Think about it. America sells about eight hundred billion dollars less of goods to the rest of the world than we buy from the other countries. At the same time, the percentage of our economy dependent on trade is smaller than that of most other developed nations. That means if trade gets disrupted the numbers of people and companies who get hurt in the USA is much lower than it will be in the other countries. After all, it takes a lot of workers and companies to produce four fifths of a trillion dollars worth of products. In that sense, Trump is correct. He is saying that the other countries will feel the pain from a trade war much more severely than we will. That should lead to a prompt settlement.
But what of the claims of ECONOMIC SUICIDE so calmly put forward by the so called "experts". What they are actually saying is that a trade war would inflict pain on some US industries. That's true, but it is hardly the reason not to follow the trade policy. The relevant question for the President is not whether or not anyone will get hurt in the USA if there is a trade war; there will be such people. The real question is whether the number who will be helped (whose existence is also a given, although the "experts" ignore them) is substantially greater than those who will be hurt. In other words, will the overall effect on the American economy be positive or negative in the long run? This is a question that the "experts" don't even attempt to address in all these mainstream media scream pieces, sorry, I meant analyses.
Trade policy is a serious subject. It's time that the media dealt with it as a serious subject that needs careful analysis rather than as a chant at a rally to be screamed mindlessly.
Think about it. America sells about eight hundred billion dollars less of goods to the rest of the world than we buy from the other countries. At the same time, the percentage of our economy dependent on trade is smaller than that of most other developed nations. That means if trade gets disrupted the numbers of people and companies who get hurt in the USA is much lower than it will be in the other countries. After all, it takes a lot of workers and companies to produce four fifths of a trillion dollars worth of products. In that sense, Trump is correct. He is saying that the other countries will feel the pain from a trade war much more severely than we will. That should lead to a prompt settlement.
But what of the claims of ECONOMIC SUICIDE so calmly put forward by the so called "experts". What they are actually saying is that a trade war would inflict pain on some US industries. That's true, but it is hardly the reason not to follow the trade policy. The relevant question for the President is not whether or not anyone will get hurt in the USA if there is a trade war; there will be such people. The real question is whether the number who will be helped (whose existence is also a given, although the "experts" ignore them) is substantially greater than those who will be hurt. In other words, will the overall effect on the American economy be positive or negative in the long run? This is a question that the "experts" don't even attempt to address in all these mainstream media scream pieces, sorry, I meant analyses.
Trade policy is a serious subject. It's time that the media dealt with it as a serious subject that needs careful analysis rather than as a chant at a rally to be screamed mindlessly.
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