Advertisement

Supported by

Guest Essay

By Kimberly Clausing

Ms. Clausing is a professor of tax law and policy at the U.C.L.A. School of Law.

President Trump has relentlessly blamed foreign countries for much of what ails Americans. Trade imbalances, fentanyl overdoses and the economic struggles of working-class Americans are all laid at the feet of foreign governments.

According to that logic, tariffs are the ideal policy instrument for extracting concessions from foreign governments to remedy those harms while raising money for America’s Treasury. Of course, there is an inherent conflict between these two goals: If foreign governments make the requisite changes and Mr. Trump drops the tariffs, they will raise no revenue. And yet the president pushes ahead, seemingly........

© The New York Times