According to one famous political leader, "tariff" is the most beautiful word in a dictionary. In this light, some historical parallels are worth remembering.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed by Congress in June 1930 and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. On September 18, 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and a bloody war followed. This was a direct consequence of said legislation, albeit an unintended one. Reciprocal tariffs from the rest of the world hit US exporters really hard too. Because the U.S. was a large net exporter it only worsened the already deteriorating economic situation. Back then the driving force behind tariffs were farmers, who had an overly naïve understanding of the economy, yet were extremely vocal constituents. It was MAGA before the term's existence.
To be fair, tariffs are a useful tool to hedge from beggar thy neighbor industrial, and by extension trade policies, of other countries. Just don't pretend they'll be cost-free.
According to one famous political leader, "tariff" is the most beautiful word in a dictionary. In this light, some historical parallels are worth remembering.
The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act was passed by Congress in June 1930 and signed into law by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. On September 18, 1931, Japan invaded Manchuria and a bloody war followed. This was a direct consequence of said legislation, albeit an unintended one. Reciprocal tariffs from the rest of the world hit US exporters really hard too. Because the U.S. was a large net exporter it only worsened the already deteriorating economic situation. Back then the driving force behind tariffs were farmers, who had an overly naïve understanding of the economy, yet were extremely vocal constituents. It was MAGA before the term's existence.
To be fair, tariffs are a useful tool to hedge from beggar thy neighbor industrial, and by extension trade policies, of other countries. Just don't pretend they'll be cost-free.
U - Unintended consequences.
#economics February 2025
BY Random Thoughts
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As a result, the pandemic saw many newcomers to Telegram, including prominent anti-vaccine activists who used the app's hands-off approach to share false information on shots, a study from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue shows. At its heart, Telegram is little more than a messaging app like WhatsApp or Signal. But it also offers open channels that enable a single user, or a group of users, to communicate with large numbers in a method similar to a Twitter account. This has proven to be both a blessing and a curse for Telegram and its users, since these channels can be used for both good and ill. Right now, as Wired reports, the app is a key way for Ukrainians to receive updates from the government during the invasion. Markets continued to grapple with the economic and corporate earnings implications relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict. “We have a ton of uncertainty right now,” said Stephanie Link, chief investment strategist and portfolio manager at Hightower Advisors. “We’re dealing with a war, we’re dealing with inflation. We don’t know what it means to earnings.” Crude oil prices edged higher after tumbling on Thursday, when U.S. West Texas intermediate slid back below $110 per barrel after topping as much as $130 a barrel in recent sessions. Still, gas prices at the pump rose to fresh highs.
from ar
