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Matthew Lau: Trump's tariff beatings against Americans will continue until morale improves

The cost of trade barriers are paid for by importers, not exporters

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In Canada, government imposes punitive taxes or prohibitions on Canadian consumers, including of dairy, alcohol products from the U.S. (the sales of which are banned in some provinces), and cars. In a supposed effort to induce the Canadian federal and provincial governments to curtail these punitive policies, Donald Trump has just proposed to raise punitive taxes on American consumers, notably through a new 50 per cent tariff on those who buy paper products, cement, wood products, dairy, honey, essential oils, hockey equipment, and certain alcoholic beverages from Canada.

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Robert Higgs, an American economic historian, posted this analogy to social media during an earlier era of Trump tariff-mania back in 2018: “Suppose you’re a slave, and your master undertakes to beat you more frequently. When you complain, the wise-asses on Facebook berate your intelligence because of your failure to understand that this increase in beatings is only a bargaining tactic by which your master expects to induce........

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