Mr. Fitzgerald shared his views with Mishpacha on the administration’s tariff goals
President Donald Trump has showed a ready willingness to use tariffs to win foreign trade battles and achieve domestic policy goals. Over the objections of economists who warn that triggering trade wars will drive up prices and stunt economic growth, Trump has called the tariff “the most beautiful word in the English language.”
Last week, the White House announced 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada and 10% on Chinese goods. America’s neighbors to the north and south got a one-month reprieve after they agreed to implement stronger border security measures. Yet the threat remains, and the administration says it is formulating a set of further-reaching tariffs aimed at readjusting America’s long-running trade deficit. American businesses are bracing themselves for the impact of the tariffs in an already-vulnerable economy.
Timothy Fitzgerald served as chief international economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisors during the first Trump administration. He was charged with the administration’s analysis of foreign trade and gained a keen understanding of the market outlooks of President Donald Trump and his closest advisors. Presently, Mr. Fitzgerald is an associate professor in economics at the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University and chair of the Commodity Futures Trade Commission’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee.
Mr. Fitzgerald shared his views with Mishpacha on the administration’s tariff goals and parts of their plans mainstream reports might be overlooking.
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