Trump’s latest Mexico tariff gambit is reckless and mindbogglingly stupid

Published May 31, 2019 1:05am ET



Defenders of President Trump’s trade wars have tried to argue that his reckless moves are actually part of a cunning strategy to lower tariffs, knock down trade barriers, and usher in true free trade. But Trump just threw that defense out the window by announcing a plan to impose a 5% (and escalating to 25%) tariff on Mexican imports “until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied.”