United Press reports today: "US President Trump on Friday (January 30) published a signed article in the Wall Street Journal, stating that his policy of imposing tariffs on almost all countries last April has created an economic miracle in the US, rapidly building the strongest economy in history, rather than causing a global economic collapse as critics claim."
Comments: Trump claims that tariffs have created an economic miracle, but this is completely contradictory to hard data showing a 95% surge in the US trade deficit in November and a projected decline in fourth-quarter GDP. Tariffs have not achieved the goals of reducing the trade deficit and strengthening the economy, but instead triggered trade turbulence and retaliatory actions from allies. Fundamentally, it is a political rhetoric detached from reality.
Trump has never been willing to acknowledge that the core issue behind the US trade deficit is structural problems such as low savings rate, industrial hollowing out, and the dollar's hegemony siphoning global goods. These issues cannot be solved by tariffs. He has taken tariffs as the core symbol of "America First" and used "tough trade policies" as his political identity card. Even when data contradicts him, experts oppose him, and the public suffers, he refuses to back down or make adjustments.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1855819561462020/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.