President Trump has never quite been known for his farsightedness. Not in his anti-Islam rhetoric masked as candid commentary, or the supposed promise for the demolition and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip all in the same timeline. Not even when the economy of the United States of America and inevitably, the rest of the world, is at stake. Trump now holds the title for single-handedly bringing down the administrative ship, a rare feat given the extensive history of capitalist colonial procurements by his predecessors.
It wasn’t until he announced his plans to impose tariffs on imports that I realized Trump’s America has far to go. You can teach them to be racist, practise bigotry like second nature, but you cannot inculcate common sense in the mismatched condiments of MAGA propaganda. Let us break down this economic hyperbole once and for all. Tariffs are taxes, for sure; but like every tax in the modern state of the world economy, they are going to make the lives of average citizens harder. Not Musk, or Trump, or the Hiltons. But the average American who wants to dress up nice, go for a wellness walk, take a detour at Starbucks (the boycott hypocrisy of which is hilarious and will be further discussed), and hopefully, return home in one piece given the normalization of gun ownership by both sides of the spectrum.
Here’s the problem. In order to grab a frappuccino at your local coffee shop in downtown Boston, you’ll need to spend approximately $5, even more, if you choose to splurge in the touristy areas. Coffee, like every product, has a cost of manufacturing: the total amount of money, both in ingredients, labour, and power that is spent to make it. If it takes $2.5 to make your artisan cup, the coffee shop in question pockets $2.5 in profit. Simple, no?
Except now, with tariffs imposed on major Mexican products, including coffee, which the US hasn’t gained the geographical insights to produce at home, it is going to be harder to make the splurge. Coffee beans become expensive, and buyers pay extra to get the same amount; consequently, the previous $2.5 profit is now overshadowed by a $2 extra cost. In what capitalist hellhole, or even lack thereof because this is pure delusion, does a business find it wise to make a $0.5 profit per unit? None. Not with the American Dream creeping away. So, ultimately, the weight of this decision will fall back on the ones who were only out and about for a harmless beverage. Now, the same coffee will cost $7.5, or daresay $8 (for extra protection against the Republican uncertainty), and your day will be effectively ruined. This isn’t just about coffee, by the way.
The second problem that arises with these tariffs is the genuine confidence that the American public holds over its boycotting abilities. With most of the imports virtually unfeasible to produce in the country itself, it is ignorant to imagine that turning to alternatives is the solution when there are no local alternatives to begin with. The disgusting reality about this, however, is that the boycott campaign, which isn’t new to the current world structure ever since Israel’s exacerbation of the genocide in Palestine, is only now taking the grassroots emotional toll it demanded back then. This says a lot about the moral compass and political apathy of the majority of the US, for whom bombing children is justified in lieu of getting rid of the ‘future terrorists’, but inflationary pressures are where they draw the line.
The immediate fallout of these tariffs–25 percent on Mexico and Canada and 10 percent on China–will be felt in shockwaves through household costs. This will create a ripple effect of higher costs, especially in housing, with the prices of gypsum and lumber rising–materials predominantly imported from the aforementioned countries. Automobile prices are expected to hike, along with energy costs, particularly in the Midwest and New England regions. This goes to show that the impact of these tariffs is not exclusionary in any way; it will be felt in every part of the economy. Mexico, with its refusal to be a passive participant in Trump’s games, has already implemented [and retracted after a deal was struck] its intent to threaten with counter-tariffs on American exports, particularly agriculture. The very farmers who chanted “Make America Great Again” will find their harvest rotting away in storage, collateral damage to a trade war they did not sign up for.
This isn’t the first time the United States has flirted with protectionism, and past records indicate sobering effects. It reveals a broad strategy of economic exploitation, particularly when paired with actions like the suspension of the USAID and other medical grants in underdeveloped regions. These tools of coercion are meant to bend the rest of the world to the will of the US and are a masterclass in economic myopia. By prioritizing short-term political stratification over economic stability, Trump’s administration is pushing itself into its well-lit fire. A perilous gamble that is not-so-secretly a cry for help. May the odds ever be in its favor. (At revised prices, of course)
Photo Credit:
[1]- Justin Merriman| Bloomberg News
[2]-Mark Wallheiser | Getty
[3]- AP
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