Trump Considering Trade Tariffs: Is That Good or Bad?

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From Down With Tyranny

U.S. Balance of Trade since 1960. Green indicates net inflow in dollars from abroad. Red indicates net outflow in dollars to foreign entities (source). Alexander Hamilton would not approve.
(Image by U.S. Dept of Commerce:Bureau of Economic Analysis)   Permission   Details   DMCA

A drive-by for a long holiday weekend. As noted here earlier, according to the writers at Axios, including former Politico denizen Mike Allen, Trump is strongly considering imposing trade tariffs on some foreign-produced products like steel.

Here's their report minus the fear-inducing headline (emphasis in original):

"With the political world distracted by President Trump's media wars, one of the most consequential and contentious internal debates of his presidency unfolded during a tense meeting Monday in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, administration sources tell Axios.

• The outcome, with a potentially profound effect on U.S. economic and foreign policy, will be decided in coming days.
• With more than 20 top officials present, including Trump and Vice President Pence, the president and a small band of America First advisers made it clear they're hell-bent on imposing tariffs -- potentially in the 20% range -- on steel, and likely other imports.
  
• The penalties could eventually extend to other imports. Among those that may be considered: aluminum, semiconductors, paper, and appliances like washing machines.

One official estimated the sentiment in the room as 22 against and 3 in favor -- but since one of the three is named Donald Trump, it was case closed.

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No decision has been made, but the President is leaning towards imposing tariffs, despite opposition from nearly all his Cabinet."

"Hamilton was alone among the 'founding fathers' in understanding that the world was witnessing two revolutions simultaneously. One was the political transformation, embodied in the rise of republican government. The other was the economic rise of modern capitalism, with its globalizing networks of production, trade, and finance. Hamilton grasped the epochal importance of applied science and machinery as forces of production.

"In the face of these changes, Hamilton created (and largely executed) a plan for government-led economic development along lines that would be followed in more recent times by many countries (particularly in East Asia) that have undergone rapid industrialization. His political mission was to create a state that could facilitate, encourage, and guide the process of economic change -- a policy also known as dirigisme, although the expression never entered the American political lexicon the way its antonym, laissez-faire, did."

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