Trump’s New Protectionist Age

Blowing up the world trading system has consequences that the President isn’t advertising

WSJ editorial. Excerpts:

"Tariffs that blunt competition invite monopoly profits while reducing the need to innovate. This is the story of the American steel and car industries in the 1950s and 1960s before global competition exposed their deficiencies."

"41% of S&P 500 firms’ revenues come from abroad."

"U.S. exports will suffer directly from retaliatory tariffs. And they will suffer indirectly as other countries strike trade deals that give preferential treatment to non-U.S. firms."

"The U.S. share of global GDP has been stable at about 25% for decades, even as industries rise and fall."

"in his first term Mr. Trump abandoned the Asia-Pacific trade deal that excluded China. Beijing has since struck its own deal with many of those countries."