Breathe
By Sofía Guadarrama Collado
The phrase "if they cry at your house than they cry at mine, I'd rather they cry at yours" is the best definition of protectionist economic policies. A cruder form: "me first".
Selfish decisions? Definitely! Trump is the raw definition of selfishness. But in this case we must admit that Donald Trump is extremely committed to his cause: making America great again. Yes, many people have disqualified him for arguing that his country is sunk and that other countries have taken advantage of his country. But if we look at it from the American perspective and philosophy, it may be true, to some extent.
Over the past few decades, the United States invested a fortune in restoring the economy and peace in many countries and was still doing so until Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) came along.
On the other hand, the United States enjoyed wealth, as Donald Trump says, and now, they have a $37 trillion debt. At the end of President Joe Biden's term in January 2025, the U.S. national debt exceeded $36.56 trillion, equivalent to 98% of GDP. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projected that by 2034 this debt would increase from 99% of GDP in 2024 to 116%.
According to El Economista, the federal government spent $2 billion more than it collected in taxes last year, which represents a deficit of 7.2% of GDP.
This is why Donald Trump has launched this trade war with tariff bombs for everyone, partners, friends and enemies. The enemy to defeat is China. For one simple reason: China is today the factory of the planet. They produce practically everything at insanely cheap prices. Forty years ago, American companies made the very serious mistake of looking for cheap labor. Many went to Mexico and Central America and the vast majority to China. To give an example, Taiwan learned the recipe of how to manufacture microchips and became experts.
Suddenly, the United States realized that in case a war broke out, China would have control of its microchips and a large part of the American technology manufactured in the Asian country. That is why Joe Biden started the trade war with China, but in a smart and more discreet way. He had a chip factory built in Ohio, in Licking County, to reduce dependence on Chinese-made semiconductors, and two others in New York and Oregon.
That is why Trump's new trade policy seeks to reverse globalization with tariffs. Starting today, the United States will levy 104% tariffs on China.
The vast majority of economists are certain that these tariffs are creating some of the biggest setbacks in the global and U.S. economy. However, Donald Trump and the head of the President's Council of Economic Advisors, Stephen Miran, and Peter Navarro think just the opposite.
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