President Donald Trump’s recent decision to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China has already impacted the U.S. economy with a price rise that affects groceries, clothing, makeup products and technology, making it a high demand for customers, as well as trade tensions.
The U.S. administration claimed those tariffs to be a way to protect American citizens and manufacturers.
Tariffs imposed on Chinese goods led to a cold trade war by placing over $300 billion worth of tariffs on electronics and consumer goods.
As a reaction, China put tariffs on American agriculture, such as pork, corn, chicken and fruit.
“The agriculture industry will suffer greatly alongside anything that requires food or raw material or products like produced material from China. So if you see anything made in China, it’s going to be more expensive from now on,” noted George Ringwelski ’25.
According to the American Farm Bureau Federation, increasing tariffs will affect them a great deal on top of inflation and high supply costs.
“Historically, trade protection, like tariffs, may sound good, but they often don’t work very well. And they often end up leading to people being afraid and not spending their money, and that leads to a recession,” said Brian Morgan, social science teacher.
The Cato Institute investigated the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act (1930) and uncovered how it negatively affected U.S. exports and worsened The Great Depression.
“Zero tariffs are best for everybody. However, if we are being realistic, you have some tariff to pay for the international trade administration and such, so, a 2 percent tariff would be fine and fair for all parties,” said Brian Davis, Business teacher at Archbishop Riordan High School.
While Donald Trump’s recent decision to put tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China may be the best scenario for the U.S. government, it triggered economic debates about fairness and trade balances in today’s economy.
As governments continue to navigate the complexities of international trade, they are trying to find security in partnerships for long-term stability for our country.
