• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • Business
  • Lifestyle
JD FOSTER: Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs End In Disaster Or Prosperity?

JD FOSTER: Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs End In Disaster Or Prosperity?

April 3, 2025
No, Yellowstone Is Not Up For Sale, Senator Leading Charged Public Lands Bill Says

No, Yellowstone Is Not Up For Sale, Senator Leading Charged Public Lands Bill Says

June 21, 2025
SETH ORANBURG: CLARITY Now: Congress Must Bring Truth to Crypto Markets

SETH ORANBURG: CLARITY Now: Congress Must Bring Truth to Crypto Markets

June 21, 2025
JD FOSTER: The Senate Should Pass The Recissions Package Quickly

JD FOSTER: The Senate Should Pass The Recissions Package Quickly

June 21, 2025
DAVID BLACKMON: Trump And Wright Move To Speed Nuclear Expansion

DAVID BLACKMON: Trump And Wright Move To Speed Nuclear Expansion

June 21, 2025
LARRY ELDER: On Iran, Democrats, Except Fetterman, Have Gone Underground

LARRY ELDER: On Iran, Democrats, Except Fetterman, Have Gone Underground

June 20, 2025
Court Strikes Down Louisiana Law Requiring Ten Commandments In Schools

Court Strikes Down Louisiana Law Requiring Ten Commandments In Schools

June 20, 2025
MANISHA SINGH: No Great Expectations Of The Group Of Seven

MANISHA SINGH: No Great Expectations Of The Group Of Seven

June 20, 2025
Court Decision Could Spell Disaster For DC Law Allowing Noncitizens Ability To Vote

Court Decision Could Spell Disaster For DC Law Allowing Noncitizens Ability To Vote

June 20, 2025
Industries Long Addicted To Illegal Labor In Withdrawal As Trump Cracks Down

Industries Long Addicted To Illegal Labor In Withdrawal As Trump Cracks Down

June 20, 2025
Obama-Appointed Judge Allows Harvard To Continue Enrolling Foreign Students

Obama-Appointed Judge Allows Harvard To Continue Enrolling Foreign Students

June 20, 2025
Trump Admin Gives California Ultimatum To Cut Trans Ideology From Classrooms

Trump Admin Gives California Ultimatum To Cut Trans Ideology From Classrooms

June 20, 2025
‘The View’ Hosts Blame Sunny Hostin For Harris Losing Election With Viral Question 

‘The View’ Hosts Blame Sunny Hostin For Harris Losing Election With Viral Question 

June 20, 2025
  • Donald Trump
  • State of the Union
  • Elon Musk
  • Tariffs
  • Congress
  • Faith
  • Immigration
Saturday, June 21, 2025
  • Login
IJR
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls
No Result
View All Result
IJR
No Result
View All Result
Home Commentary

JD FOSTER: Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs End In Disaster Or Prosperity?

by Daily Caller News Foundation
April 3, 2025
in Commentary, Op-Ed, Wire
240 12
0
JD FOSTER: Will Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ Tariffs End In Disaster Or Prosperity?
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Daily Caller News Foundation

“Liberation Day” has come. So what does it mean? Beats the hell out of me.

What we know is that President Trump’s avalanche of tariffs was to hit a peak on April 2; not end, mind you; not necessarily “the” peak, as more could be on the way; but a peak.

No Trump policy more completely breaks with America’s past than his “beautiful” tariffs on just about everything coming into the United States from just about anywhere.

Will this new policy liberate American manufacturing from foreign shackles? Will it usher in a new era of prosperity, keeping in mind the United States had for many years the consistently best-performing economy in the industrialized world, even overcoming the many inane obstacles erected by the Biden-Harris Administration?

Or will it leave the United States isolated, friendless, and weakened?

The correct answer at this point is no one knows, not even the bloviating talking heads on TV confidently predicting demise or Shangri-la.

Think of it this way. Suppose you’re a restaurant chef and a woman hands you a new recipe. Her father turns 75 soon and they want to have a party at the restaurant. The recipe is for the father’s favorite dish, one her mother made for years.

The recipe looks old, with odd ingredients and processes you’ve not seen before. Now judge it as a chef.

You can’t. Even as you start chopping and dicing, mixing ingredients as instructed, you’re not too sure how this is going to turn out. You have to wait until the dish is on the plate and taste it.

That’s the case with Trump’s tariffs. How will this all turn out? It’s too soon to tell.

The stock market sure doesn’t like it, but why should it? The investor class doesn’t understand this any better than you do. What they do understand is this new policy has upended assumptions and created enormous new uncertainties. We know that dish as those ingredients are always good for a big pullback.

Much of the confusion arises because we don’t know the underlying policy and likely this uncertainty is intentional. Trump likes keeping his counterparts, in this case our trading partners, guessing. If it means Americans are confused for a bit, Trump’s cool with that. Breaking eggs to make an omelette. It will pass and America will be great again afterward. Bon appetite.

If the core policy is to erect massive and mostly permanent tariff walls behind which American firms can hide, then we know how this will turn out: America, meet the dustbin of history.

If the core policy is to force our trading partners to deal with America fairly by reducing their trade barriers after which Trump will remove his tariffs, then this could turn out very well. Tariffs (and non-tariff barriers) in the U.S. and those of our trading partners would fall, reinvigorating the free trade that has energized prosperity for decades.

Which is it? Walls and doom or freedom and prosperity? Again, too early to tell.

Whatever else Trump does in his second term, these tariffs will define his presidency, akin in consequence to Ronald Reagan’s pro-growth tax cuts and Joe Biden’s inflation.

Trump in his second term clearly lives by the saying, “go bold or go home.” He’s got “bold” down pat. We will see over the next year or so whether he and the Republicans go home. Has he liberated Democrats from any fear of Republicans in the mid-terms or in 2028, or he’s liberated America from any fear of Democratic socialism and wokism returning in our lifetimes. The chips are all-in. Soon we will see the cards. Uncertainty, indeed.

JD Foster is the former chief economist at the Office of Management and Budget and former chief economist and senior vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He now resides in relative freedom in the hills of Idaho.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Tags: big-tent-ideasDCNFU.S. News
Share196Tweet123
Daily Caller News Foundation

Daily Caller News Foundation

Advertisements

Top Stories June 10th
Top Stories June 7th
Top Stories June 6th
Top Stories June 3rd
Top Stories May 30th
Top Stories May 29th
Top Stories May 24th
Top Stories May 23rd
Top Stories May 21st
Top Stories May 17th

Join Over 6M Subscribers

We’re organizing an online community to elevate trusted voices on all sides so that you can be fully informed.





IJR

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Trusted Voices On All Sides

  • About Us
  • GDPR Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Editorial Standards & Corrections Policy
  • Subscribe to IJR

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Politics
  • US News
  • Commentary
  • World News
  • Faith
  • Latest Polls

    Copyright © 2024 IJR

Top Stories June 10th Top Stories June 7th Top Stories June 6th Top Stories June 3rd Top Stories May 30th Top Stories May 29th Top Stories May 24th Top Stories May 23rd Top Stories May 21st Top Stories May 17th