Wall Street Journal Trashes Trump on Trade Tariffs Causing Real and Growing Damage

In an editorial entitled  The Trade Casualties Mount,” the editorial board of the conservative Wall Street Journal harshly criticized the trade policies of President Donald Trump and his trade representative Peter Navarro.

According to the Journal, the Trump administration’s trade policies are already having a very negative effect on U.S. manufacturers as well as stifling economic growth. The Journal editors began their critical opinion piece writing:

“President Trump is escalating his trade rhetoric, threatening China and Europe with more tariffs on more goods if they don’t agree to his terms. Mr. Trump says winning these trade wars is ‘easy,’ so let’s take a look at the early returns on his steel and aluminum tariffs and the retaliation they’ve inspired.”

“Consider Alcoa , the top U.S. aluminum manufacturer whose shares plunged 13% Thursday and another 3% Friday after the company reported that tariffs are crimping earnings. The tariffs could wipe out $100 million of income this year, equal to about 18% of profits last year. ‘Tariffs will not solve the challenges facing the aluminum industry,’ Alcoa CEO Roy Harvey said on an earnings call.”

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The Journal editors then pointed out that “…many businesses are delaying investments in the U.S. because of the uncertainty caused by the tariffs.”

They referred to a Texas pipeline manufacturer that announced last week that the company had “frozen plans to invest $75 million in expanding production.”

The Journal editors seemed especially upset that Navarro so quickly and easily dismissed the economic chaos and disruption that was being caused by the economic policies he is implementing for President Trump.

They wrote:

“Meanwhile, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told CNBC on Thursday that the damage from the trade war so far is no big deal. We got two economies that add up to around $30 trillion in annual GDP. The amount of trade we’re affecting with the tariffs is a rounding error compared to that.”

“Navarro dismissed companies taking a big financial hit as a “rounding error” — and the Journal pounced.”

Then they went on to say:

“All of this and more are examples of the real and growing damage that Mr. Trump’s arbitrary and punitive trade policy is doing to U.S. companies and workers. Businesses have been relatively quiet so far because they are happy with the tax reform and deregulation.”

“If Mr. Trump escalates his protectionism, the pain will increase and so will the political backlash before November.”

This is not the first time the Wall Street Journal has issued a warning to Donald Trump and the Republican Party concerning trade tariffs.  Just last month we published a story entitled “WSJ Tells Republicans Good Luck Running on Trump’s Tariffs in November.” The Journal has been sounding the alarm, saying that Trump’s tariffs and trade war were hurting American consumers and businesses and there would be a backlash in November’s midterm elections.

Leaders in the Republican Congress have said they can’t do anything to interfere with or stop Trump from imposing duties on imports from other countries, which is questionable.  The fact that they are unwilling to stand up to Donald Trump on any of his misguided policies is a sign of weakness and a clear indication that the United States needs a change in leadership, and we should get one after the Blue Wave which is coming this November.

Leo Vidal

I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.