Tariffs News
The Daily Signal provides news and analysis of tariff disputes, trade wars, and their effect on industries and consumers.
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Trump’s Tariffs Will Hurt the Economy. Congress Should Reassert Its Constitutional Authority on Trade.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate commerce, but significant pieces of that power have been outsourced to the executive branch over the last four decades. One example of this outsourcing is Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That provision gives the president the authority to impose import tariffs without the…Tori K. Smith -
Trump’s Tariffs Would Be a Massive, Self-Inflicted Wound
Oftentimes in global politics, a country will seek to punish its foreign adversaries by imposing economic sanctions against them, preventing them from purchasing goods or natural resources on the international market. But this week, President Donald Trump is considering imposing economic sanctions on the United States, in the form of tariffs. This is being done…Patrick Tyrrell -
Podcast: New Tariffs Will Destroy Jobs, Produce Higher Costs
As President Donald Trump suggests it’s time to put new tariffs on steel and aluminum, The Heritage Foundation’s Tori Whiting joins us to explain why that would drive up costs for basic products (soup cans, cars) and lead to the loss of thousands of jobs. Plus: We talk about the new robot, “Flippy,” working at…Katrina Trinko -
3 Reasons Why Trump’s Tariffs Would Hurt American Workers
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would announce tariffs on steel and aluminum imports in the coming week. This move follows reports from the Commerce Department that investigated the impact of these imports. The president is expected to impose tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum. This will lead to increased…Tori K. Smith -
Tariffs on Steel Will Hurt Steel-Using Industries in the US
In January, the Department of Commerce delivered a report to the president on the effects of steel imports on U.S. national security. That report went public earlier this month. In the report, the Commerce Department made a series of recommendations to restrict imports. Those recommendations ranged from imposing tariffs of up to 53 percent to…Tori K. Smith -
US Trading Partners Calling Foul on Trump’s Tariffs
Since President Trump imposed tariffs last month of up to 50 percent on washers and solar products, five of America’s trading partners have filed requests for consultation with the World Trade Organization. South Korea, the first country to cry foul, filed consultation requests for the washer and solar tariffs on Jan. 24. Taiwan then submitted…Tori K. Smith -
Tariffs on Canadian Lumber Are Hurting American Homebuyers
The import of softwood lumber from Canada, such as pine, spruce, and fir, into the United States is an issue of contention dating back to the 1980s. Recently, the United States imposed steep tariffs, or taxes on imports, on Canadian softwood lumber imported into the U.S. The ongoing dispute between the two countries is providing…Patrick Tyrrell -
5 Ways Trump’s New Tariffs Will Hurt Americans
On Jan. 23, President Donald Trump signed two proclamations imposing tariffs and quotas on imports of solar cells and modules, large residential washers, and washer parts. Solar cells and modules will see a tariff of 30 percent after the first 2.5 gigawatts. Washers will be tariffed at 20 percent for the first 1.2 million units,…Tori K. Smith -
3 Reasons Trump Should Pull the Plug on Solar Tariffs
An expansive trade case has simmered on the back burner since April 2017 and is now finally on its way to President Donald Trump’s desk for a decision by Jan. 26. The case involves two failing manufacturing companies—Suniva and SolarWorld—which have petitioned the government for globally applicable tariffs on inexpensive imports of solar cells and…Katie Tubb -
How Tariffs and Regressive Trade Policies Hurt the Poor
With round 5 of NAFTA negotiations behind us, Americans can begin to look forward to round 6 in Montreal in the second half of January. While all Americans stand to benefit from free trade, we must not lose sight of who has the most to lose. Tariffs are just taxes on Americans by another name. However,…Logan Kolas -
Add Homebuilders to the List of Industries Hurt by Tariffs
New data show that protectionism is taking a toll on the confidence of homebuilders. Last month, homebuilder confidence hit its lowest reading since November 2016, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market. The index fell two points from 66 to 64, upsetting economists’ predictions that confidence would actually improve. While anything…Robert Bellafiore -
Steel Tariffs Cost American Families Hard-Earned Money
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the U.S. Department of Commerce will hold a public hearing “on the global steel industry situation and its impact on the U.S. steel industry and market.” The hearing provides an opportunity for the public to comment on government policies that attempt to “protect” U.S. steel producers…Tori K. Smith -
The 12 Tariffs of Christmas
Thanks to U.S. trade policy, Americans will find themselves paying above-market prices for many Christmas gifts this year. The United States has free trade agreements with 20 countries around the world, which reduce most tariffs on imports from these countries to zero. However, these agreements cover only approximately 36 percent of U.S. annual imports. To…Tori K. Smith