I’m proud to join with Phil Magness and other economists to issue this Anti-Tariff Declaration. It went public just a few minutes ago. Among the (so far 235) signers are Nobel laureates Vernon Smith and James Heckman, as well as Ken Elzinga, Phil Gramm, David Henderson, Robert Higgs, Randy Holcombe, Greg Mankiw, Deirdre McCloskey, Mike Munger, Sam Peltzman, Mario Rizzo, and Richard Vedder.
You are invited to sign it.
This Declaration, which is short, reads in part:
Since taking office in 2025, the Trump Administration has adopted steep protective tariffs by unilateral executive decrees. These measures have injected uncertainty and chaos into the global economy through wildly fluctuating rates and ever-changing orders. Cumulatively, they impose the largest tax increase on trade in almost a century. The proponents of tariffs portray these measures as acts of ‘economic liberation.’ Instead, tariffs invert the principles of liberty that ushered in an American-led age of human freedom and prosperity.
I will not yet post the full Declaration here because I urge people to click on this link, read the Declaration in full, and – if you agree with it – sign it.
…..
Reason‘s Jack Nicastro reports on this Declaration. A slice:
Magness tells Reason he was inspired to co-author the statement by his past scholarship on the 19th century tariff system that culminated in the Smoot-Hawley disaster of 1930. Magness says he “watched the ‘Liberation Day’ announcement in shock, seeing the same fallacies and errors from a century ago being repeated today.” Boudreaux says the letter’s goal is “to counter the unfathomable economic ignorance that is fueling support for Trump’s protectionism.”
Magness says the nonpartisan, evidence-based letter is an attempt “to correct the myths and falsehoods that have been promoted by tariff supporters in their misguided cause” that “will impose extraordinary costs on Americans from all walks of life.” Boudreaux hopes the letter will move “opinion makers and voters to reconsider their support for these policies that destroy not only our material wealth but also–and more importantly–our liberties.”
Only time will tell if Americans heed the economists’ clarion call.
