Here’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal.
Editor:
The White House is outraged that Amazon even considered, as you report, “displaying the impact of tariffs during its online checkout process” (“Amazon Rules Out Displaying Tariff Impact After White House Attack,” April 29). How surprising.
President Trump’s base insists that he’s singularly forthright and fearless. Yet when a merchant proposes to reveal to the American people the precise costs of his tariffs, he angrily demands that it not do so. Afraid of people being shown clearly the ill consequences of his protectionism, the president, by insisting that this information be quashed, refuses to man-up to the consequences of his tariffs.
Many people have defended Trump’s protectionism with the boast that they’re willing to pay higher prices to protect American workers. Obviously, Mr. Trump doesn’t take these boasts of his supporters seriously.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Professor of Economics
and
Martha and Nelson Getchell Chair for the Study of Free Market Capitalism at the Mercatus Center
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
