
So, just like when Trump initially announced the tariffs on Mexico and Canada, the markets have reacted badly.
CNBC reports, Dow drops 600 points, Nasdaq flirts with correction territory as Trump’s trade war escalates: Live updates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 647 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 shed 1.5%. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1.4%, pushing the tech-heavy index near correction territory, which is when it falls 10% from a recent high.
Business. Does. Not. Like. Trump’s. Tariffs.
This is because they are a very bad idea that will directly impact not only the profitability of many, many companies but will also raise the price of many goods for US consumers.
I heard a report on NPR yesterday that Trump was talking about a tariff on imported lumber because that would make houses cheaper. This just in: No. It would not. Indeed, quite the opposite.
I suspect a lot of the financial and industrial types looking at the market plunge voted for Trump. But the leopard wouldn’t eat their profits and valuations! Right?
And this is insane. Tariffs will not stop fentanyl.
First, as I noted in an extensive post back in December, stopping fentanyl smuggling is hard.
Second, when it comes to Canada specifically, allow the following headline from CNN to explain: Canada makes up just 0.2% of US border fentanyl seizures.
So, either they don’t understand what they are dealing with, or they are lying about why they are doing it (although, really, it is both).
I understand that they think tariffs give them leverage over other countries, but beating people rarely results in the kind of results one needs. Further, others can pick up clubs as well.
Worse, Americans will suffer from all of this, and there will be little to show in terms of gains.
I would note that he promised to do this, and many tried to warn of the consequences, and yet here we are.
Source for the title quote is Reuters (2018). Source for screencap, here.




