Trump administration tariff announcements, threats, and revisions are popping off daily, and some 21,000 U.S. firms are seeking exemptions from the newly imposed steel and aluminum tariffs. It’s painfully obvious that playing games with trade policy — if that’s what’s really going on — is hurting workers in affected industries and stiff-arming consumers who ultimately must pay higher, tariff-induced prices on goods and services.

Already, we are seeing announcements about layoffs in industries that rely on steel and a realignment of world production by firms seeking to maintain profitability in a highly uncertain global economy.