Frank wrote on Aug 13
th, 2025 at 4:08pm:
Breitbart, what a flapping joke.
It's what Navarro leaves out (or distorts) that's what is important.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, tariffs were one of the few ways to raise federal revenue. The US was a developing, industrialising nation competing with established powers. Today, the US is a mature, service-heavy economy with complex global supply chains.
Historically, high tariffs often provoked trade retaliation, raised consumer prices, and sometimes harmed the very industries they were meant to protect (eg, the Smoot–Hawley Tariff of 1930 worsened the Great Depression). Navarro ignores these downsides.
Hamilton and Clay's tariffs were targeted in a far smaller, less interconnected economy. Trump's tariffs are broad, global, and hit US allies as well as rivals, which has disrupted supply chains and raised costs for US manufacturers. Basically, what I said
here.
There's little hard evidence that Trump's tariffs in 2018–2020 significantly boosted US manufacturing in the long run. Some industries saw short-term gains, but many more faced higher input costs and lost export markets.
But as seems on trend for you Frank, as long as someone tells you what you want to hear, reinforcing what you already believe, the research stops there.
Copy and paste here, then insult or ignore those who looked at both sides of the coin.
Long on assertions, shot on evidence - even though you gthink you are a champion of evidence based intellectual arguments.