GRACELIN BASKARAN: Tariffs could hurt US economy, boost China’s mineral imports
Cost of tariffs passed on to end users can be a chokehold on industries that are labour intensive
In 1992, James Carville, who was then Bill Clinton’s campaign strategist, coined a phrase that explains election results. Quite simply: “It’s the economy, stupid.” Despite some economic challenges being exogenous — such as high fuel prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — the US electorate has made it clear they want someone who will safeguard the US economy.
President-elect Donald Trump has one economy policy lever that he’s repeated advocated for: tariffs. In just more than two months, the new administration will be inaugurated and a new Congress will begin — comprising a Republican House and Republican Senate. And there’s one economic policy that we will see feature prominently: tariffs, tariffs, tariffs...
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