Sloan Jambor ‘26, LyonLife.org Editor-in-Chief
On Oct. 25, President Donald Trump announced a 10 percent tariff increase on Canada following an anti-tariff ad that the Province of Ontario played during the Major League Baseball World Series. The ad—displayed on Americans’ televisions—criticized Trump’s usage of tariffs by utilizing former President Ronald Reagan’s speech that discouraged tariff usage.
As Reagan said in his speech that was aired, “[tariffs] hurt every American.” With around 80 countries having tariffs ranging from 10 to 50 percent implemented by Trump, it seems that his actions are only justified by his desire to assert dominance rather than doing what is right for the country. Tariffs, a tax placed on the business or country that is importing the goods, are supposed to help a country become more independent, but the rush to cut trade with all of these countries is just causing America to deplete in strength. As America depends on a lot of these countries, the only result that economists have seen and continue to predict is a possible loss in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and a decrease in the growth of jobs within America.
Trump immediately came out after this ad aired and stated that there would be a 10 percent tariff increase on Canada, causing a 35 percent increase in their total tariffs. This hardly shocked many Americans based on Trump’s extensive use of tariffs, and Mark Carney, the Prime Minister of Canada, was also barely moved by the statement as Canada was “in the process of diversifying [Canada’s] trade relationships.” The tariffs will only continue to harm the United States, as the companies that are importing the goods will have to pay the tariffs, and the exporters pay nothing at all.
Richard Quest from CNN said, “The Canadian incident shows countries on the other side of the negotiating table with the United States facing a near-impossible situation.” Trump was proven wrong by a former president in his own political party, but rather than reflecting on the situation, he added more impulsive tariffs. Countries are simply annoyed, as any move could possibly upset Trump, and he could likely retaliate with another gradual increase in tariffs. Rather than prioritizing the economy, Trump focuses on his power, and how he can make the countries he does submerge to his word.
Trump’s tariff formula was mentioned in an interview with him and the daily show The Daily Show: “The tariff formula is a formula based on common sense, based on deficit, based on how we have been treated over the years, and based on raw numbers,” Trump said. Trump has increased tariffs on both India and Brazil due to matters he personally disagreed with, even if they did not pertain directly to the United States. The trend of Trump increasing tariffs on countries he does not agree with is only becoming more evident. Trump prefers to base his tariff calculations on how the United States of America is being treated by other countries rather than solely basing them on an economic scale.
Tariffs, once used to correct an imbalance in trade power, are now being overused and causing potential harm to the United States’ economy. The United States is heading into the midst of a trade war due to the president’s personal vendettas, and the consequences are only going to get steeper.
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