Former President Donald Trump has proposed a 60% tariff on goods from China and a 20% tariff on everything else the United States imports. This week, he raised the ante still higher. To punish the machinery manufacturer John Deere for its plans to move some production to Mexico, Trump vowed to tax anything Deere tried to export back into the U.S. — at 200%. And he threatened to hit Mexican-made goods with 100% tariffs. Mainstream economists are generally skeptical of tariffs, considering them a mostly inefficient way for governments to raise money and promote prosperity. They are especially alarmed by Trump’s latest proposed tariffs.
