The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA), a Washington D.C.-based non-profit, has released a report evaluating the first year of trade policies under President Trump’s second administration. The report, titled “The Price of Protectionism: The Uncreative Destruction of Trump’s Trade Policies,” analyzes the economic and legal impacts resulting from increased tariff rates imposed through executive action.
David B. McGarry, Research Director at TPA, commented on the findings: “It has been a year and a day since President Trump began his trade war anew, announcing significant rate increases on Mexico and Canada. This period has been marred by the administration’s remarkable vacillations and its utter disbelief in sound analysis and the laws of basic economics. Sure enough, as many predicted, it has been American businesses and consumers—and not foreign exporters—that have borne the vast majority of the costs of Trump’s protectionist folly.
“President Trump has pursued his project—a project that aims to remake entirely America’s tariff schedule and global economic relationships—via executive action, without Congress. Even putting aside the economic questions, a nation founded on the notion of no taxation without representation cannot tolerate such presidential overreach. The Supreme Court will soon rule on these statutory and constitutional matters, and that ruling will likely strike a good share of President Trump’s actions.
“The year of protectionism reviewed by TPA’s report was not a good one for American businesses, domestic consumers, the Constitution, or the rule of law. Congress, the branch tasked with tariffing authorities as well as oversight duties, must intervene to prevent further abuses perpetrated by the White House.”
Founded in 2011, TPA advocates for government transparency by educating the public through research and analysis about how excessive taxation and spending affect all levels of government.
