As this report reveals, Trump thinks that he’s CEO of America, Inc., and that his job is to ensure that America, Inc., sells as much as possible to – and buys as little as possible from – China, Inc., Mexico, Inc., Canada, Inc., India, Inc., Australia, Inc., EU Inc., and on and on for all other countries. His goal is simple and easy to understand: America succeeds at trade only insofar as it is a net earner of money from trade with each individual country with which it deals. The exclusive purpose of trade, for Trump, is to bring in money; it is not to enrich domestic citizens with goods and services.
This core mercantilist fallacy, of course, was a chief target of Adam Smith.
Trump is not merely a mercantilist; he’s a cartoonish mercantilist. His economic ignorance defies at least my ability to adequately describe it.
I regret my poor talent at using the English language, for I’m frustrated at my inability to more fully reveal this Trumpian notion’s economic insanity.
