Trump May Not Need to Pull Trigger on Tariffs, Economist Says

The president-elect’s campaign pledges are a ‘negotiating tactic’ for leverage in trade talks—and they may already be working, a think tank analyst suggests.

Donald Trump, who was then U.S. President, signs trade sanctions against China in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington on March 22, 2018. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Economists near-universally warn that President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge to impose “across-the-board” 10-to-20-percent tariffs on imports will trigger inflation, disrupt domestic industries, and spur global trade wars.

Despite overwhelming critical consensus, Trump calls tariffs “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” and hasn’t backed down since his Nov. 5 reelection.