Here’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal.
Editor:
You report that because “Trump’s tariffs have redirected the flow of low-valued packages away from the U.S. into backyard warehouses on the Continent … all that cheap Chinese stuff is now Europe’s problem” (“All That Cheap Chinese Stuff Is Now Europe’s Problem,” December 18).
Question: How is expanded opportunity to purchase more low-priced goods a problem? If you walk into your local supermarket and discover a greater selection of groceries selling at prices lower than yesterday, do you feel burdened? Troubled? Challenged? Deprived? If on Amazon you find attractive offerings that you never knew about, each selling at a surprisingly low price, do you feel put upon? Cheated? Threatened? Impoverished?
Of course not. You’re rightly delighted because you’re genuinely enriched. And what’s true for you is true for everyone who encounters such experiences. So how can it possibly be that, as a result of Trump’s economically ignorant mistreatment of his fellow Americans, when everyone in Europe gains greater access to lower-priced goods, Europe has a problem? Your report’s claim makes no sense.
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
