President Trump sparked another international frenzy when he abruptly announced substantial new tariffs on steel and aluminum, of 25 and 10 percent respectively. Both partisan Democrats and free trade-worshipping neoliberals immediately panicked. "Protectionism" has been a dirty word in elite circles for decades, and that combined with general disgust towards Trump to make the move seem like sheerest madness.
It's hard to say just what will happen as a result of Trump's action. But we can say that insofar as he is trying to achieve some kind of positive economic effect, he's going about it in the worst possible way.
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