April 2 may go down as one of the darkest days in American economic history. On that day, President Donald Trump will unleash his tariffs (one of his favorite words) to make America and Americans really rich.

Despite all the lessons of history that tell why tariffs are disastrous policy, Trump clings to the delusion that these are the means to earn trillions and cut the $36 trillion debt. Some believe his love of tariffs goes back decades.

A few basic facts establish ground truth. The overall U.S. balance of payments, or for any state, has two components. One is the trade balance of all goods and services. Here the U.S. imbalance has always been significant. For 2024, the U.S. had a negative trade imbalance of just over $900 billion.

The second is the capital account for net investments. For 2024, the surplus is over $2 trillion. So why has Trump ignored this? This is a problem.

It is unclear how or why Trump became so obsessed with trade deficits. Trump long believed that trade imbalances harmed the U.S. economy but never said........

© The Hill