After decades of lowering its import barriers, U.S. trade policy has careened off course over the past several years. First ushered in by former President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal, protectionism later kicked into high gear under the Trump administration with new tariffs on solar panels, washing machines, steel, and aluminum, as well as tens (eventually hundreds) of billions of dollars worth of Chinese goods. President Joe Biden has endorsed this approach by keeping the tariffs largely intact — and even adding a few more.
After six years of this protectionist project, it’s worth asking what the country has to show for it. Aside from higher costs, lost jobs, increased business uncertainty, and bewildered allies, the answer is precious little. Trade wars, it turns out, are neither good nor easy to win.
