President Donald Trump has shown great leadership on many issues over the past few months in office. The president has promised the American people a government that lowers taxes and respects the right of businesses to operate without government interference. It appears that the voices of caution who are counseling for tariffs to be leverage for better trade deals are winning over the voices who want crippling long-term tariffs.

Like many, I feared that President Trump was listening to anti-trade voices like Peter Navarro, who have been publicly announcing that debilitating trade taxes on imported goods were “just the beginning.” There is a growing faction of the Republican Party who are economic isolationists and support massive tariffs that are intended to be permanent. In contrast, my former boss Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) points out that “tariffs are taxes” and cited estimates that put the cost of tariffs on families between $1,200 and $4,200 a year. For most of the past month, it seemed that the angry voices of protectionism were winning.