Title: Brett's Blog Original CoS Document (slug): [[https://conventionofstates.com/brettsblog|brettsblog]] Login Required to view? No Created: 2020-03-23 21:35:18 Updated: 2025-03-09 14:05:19 Published: 2020-03-23 01:00:00 Converted: 2025-04-14T20:25:42.592606338 ---- **Talking Tariffs** //**March 10, 2025**// The Trump Administration has been moving at warp speed since the inauguration on January 20. The incoming administration’s activities began the minute the November General Election result was known. Part of that was due to the obvious fact the Trump Team has been hard at work the past four years crafting a strategy for a possible electoral victory. Another contributing factor was that we did not have a functioning occupant in the White House for at least two of the last four years. This vacuum provided space for President Trump to effectively assume the presidency upon the conclusion of the November election. President Trump and his team obviously learned from their first term mistakes. Trump 1.0 was plagued by poor personnel decisions, a recalcitrant Congress, a lack of understanding about just how corrupt the Deep State is and relying on Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell to be the firebrands for the legislative agenda. It’s clear Team Trump learned from the mistakes of his first term. Trump 2.0 has been disciplined, focused and well-organized. President Trump has filled the administration with A-players who are effective communicators and most actions still are coming from the Executive Branch.  One policy priority is using trade policy to affect behavioral changes in foreign countries. Levying tariffs on foreign imports is a leading and highly controversial tactic. It’s causing quite a stir. Proponents of a free market are generally not in favor of using tariffs in trade policy. Many supporters of President Trump's tariff plan claim that this policy is an “Art of the Deal” strategy. Only time will tell. So, what is a tariff anyway? A tariff is a tax an importing country imposes on the goods or services imported from a foreign country. Countries impose tariffs to raise revenues, solve trade imbalances, protect native industries or use them as leverage over another country. Tariffs or instruments that behave in the same manner have existed throughout history. In the days of the Articles of Confederation, New York and New Jersey came to the brink of war over trade policy and the implementation of punitive tariffs. This dissension led to calling the 1786 Annapolis Convention to address disputes among the states. When the issues could not be resolved, the General Convention of 1787 in Philadelphia was called. Tariffs were a main source of funding for the federal government until the passage of the 17th Amendment. Estimates were that in several years tariffs accounted for 95% of federal government funding in the 1800s. The first substantive law (and second law overall) Congress passed after ratification of the US Constitution was the Tariff Act of 1789, which was passed on July 4. The act established an import duty schedule. It also imposed a 10% tariff on goods coming ashore in America on foreign vessels. Alexander Hamilton was a major proponent of imposing tariffs. In fact, he argued that tariffs would protect American industry and encourage growth. Domestic politics soon intervened causing a rift between the North and the South. The Northern economy was more industrial whereas the Southern economy was predominantly agricultural. A cotton farmer in the South who sold cotton to a foreign cloth maker would benefit if that clothmaker could sell his cloth in America without a tariff being imposed. This would reduce costs for the foreign clothmaker resulting in higher sales which meant the clothmaker would import more cotton from the Southern farmer. Northern cloth makers would prefer a tariff as a way to protect their business. //According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, total United States exports in 2024 totaled $3.2 trillion. Total United States imports were $4.1 trillion resulting in a $918 billion trade deficit.// Today, there are signs that inflation is beginning to accelerate – a cost to consumers that will cause altering buying habits. Higher costs lead to lower sales. Lower sales and higher inflation lead to economic recession if policies stay in place for a sufficient amount of time. In the short-term there will be economic pain. What is the reasoning behind President Trump’s tariff plan? There are two answers to that question. In relation to the tariffs against Canada and Mexico the focus is on drug trafficking and border security. President Trump is using tariffs to force Canada and Mexico to step up their efforts against drug traffickers. In the North American Free Trade Zone, the United States, Canada and Mexico have enjoyed mostly free trade. Today, the deadly drug fentanyl causes around 100,000 American deaths a year, and almost all the fentanyl trafficked into the U.S. comes across the southern border. The Mexican government has stepped up border security but not to the level President Trump would like. Presumably, when that’s achieved, the tariffs will be lowered or dropped. The tariffs against China are partially connected to the fentanyl trade. The component materials are sourced from China. They’re then sent to Mexico for assembly into a deliverable drug and the Mexican Drug Cartels carry the finished product across the southern border. The Chinese Communist Party also has facilitated the theft of United States’ intellectual property, military escalation and devaluation of their currency. President Trump has issued a 20% across the board tariff to force China to react. The Chinese government is retaliating with a 15% tariff on all American coal and liquid natural gas (LNG) exports. China also is adding an additional 10% tariff on American coal and LNG. President Trump also is in negotiations with several European allies. The strategy here is to implement “reciprocal” tariffs. This is where a foreign country levies a tariff against the United States for a good or service and the U.S. then enforces the same tariff against that country. As a free-market advocate, this is something I agree with more than the unilateral tariffs.The United States historically has imposed far lower tariffs on foreign countries than they levy against us. Many foreign countries have barriers to allowing American goods into their markets. Additionally, President Trump has challenged our European allies to increase their contributions to NATO and pledge to deploy troops into post-invasion Ukraine. President Trump has said he wants the tariffs eventually to be eliminated. President Trump already has achieved success in negotiations with Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. Time will tell if this trend continues. Historically, the tariffs the United States charges foreign countries is far below what those same countries charge the United States. This “leveling of the playing field” will cause markets to adjust. How much remains to be seen. On another note, action in the Convention of States' Action world continues to be fast and furious. We’ve had six committee hearings in the last 10 days. To stay up to date, be sure to subscribe to our national emails, follow our Facebook pages and subscribe to our YouTube and Rumble channels to keep track of activity across the country. These are exciting times. In liberty, Brett   Please bookmark the [[https://conventionofstates.com/welcome-to-the-missouri-information-page|Missouri Information Page]] and share it with family and friends. **Past Blog Posts**\\ \\ Did you miss last week's blog post? 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