Amid the drubbing Republicans received in midterm elections on Tuesday, one point shouldn’t get lost: Voters have summarily rejected the president’s tariffs, and the new Democratic congressional majority should do what it can to overturn them.

Erratic tariff policy has now been disrupting the the US economy for close to a decade. Although the full consequences will take time to emerge, it’s clear that the costs to date are heavy, and falling on Americans. Voters have noticed: Large majorities told pollsters that tariffs had hurt the economy, punctuating the electorate’s overall dissatisfaction with rising prices.

Tariff advocates — notably the president — have argued that an economy as big as the US has untapped market power in global trade, meaning high tariffs can force foreign suppliers to cut their prices. In effect, foreigners will pay the tax, leaving domestic consumers no worse off. A tempting prospect, and in........

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