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President Trump Says Trade Wars Are Good & Easy to Win? History says otherwise!

3,269 views · Published 6 March 2018 · 14:36 · Indexed 20 September 2026

Channel: WallStForMainSt · 2018 · Education

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On March 2nd, 2018 President Donald Trump Tweeted https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/969525362580484098 out that: "When a country (USA) is losing many billions of dollars on trade with virtually every country it does business with, trade wars are good, and easy to win. Example, when we are down $100 billion with a certain country and they get cute, don’t trade anymore-we win big. It’s easy!"

What do you think he is saying and why is he saying this? Is this just a negotiating tactic? While in the short term, tariffs on imported aluminum and steel from China, Canada and Mexico may be good for American steel or American aluminum companies, American workers working at these specific firms or or another part of the value added supply chain as higher costs are passed on, many American consumers and the global economy will not benefit from increased tariffs and trade wars. 

Despite what President Trump said, history is quite clear about what major tariffs like Smoot Hawley https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoot%E2%80%93Hawley_Tariff_Act and other similar attempts at taxing imported goods can do to both trading partners and to the global economy as a whole. 

Famous writer Frederic Bastiat wrote about this over 100 years ago long before Smoot Hawley made the Great Depression of 1929 worse and potentially lead to WWII. The slogan, "if goods don t cross borders, armies will," is often attributed to Bastiat because he so forcefully made the case that free trade was perhaps the surest route to peace as well as prosperity. He understood that throughout history, tariffs had been a major cause of war. Protectionism, after all, is an attempt by governments to inflict on their own citizens in peacetime the same kinds of harm their enemies attempt (with naval blockades) during wars. 

Bastiat has other great quotes about protectionism and tariffs https://mises.org/library/biography-frederic-bastiat-1801-1850-between-french-and-marginalist-revolutions

Additional Articles & Research on the History of Trade Wars in the US:
1) Trade Barriers as a Cause of War https://mises.org/library/trade-barriers-cause-war
2) American Tariffs and Wars From the Revolution to the Depression https://mises.org/library/american-tariffs-and-wars-revolution-depression
3) Against Trump's Tariffs https://mises.org/wire/against-trumps-tariffs-0
4) Foundation for Economic Education Website Search for Articles on Trade Wars https://fee.org/search/?q=trade+wars+

Trading (Shorting) Idea for Hedge Fund Traders and Very Sophisticated Investors only: Aluminum Corp. of China Ltd. ADR (NYSE:ACH) https://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/ach

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