Based on some mercantilist ideas which hadn’t been seen since the 18th century, Trump created a system of tariffs that upended the international trading system. Biden has kept large portions of that system in place. Why?
Three reasons:
- CHINESE REPRESSION AND AGGRESSIVE DIPLOMACY: Biden is not fixated on the trade deficit, but he is justifiably concerned about the national security implications of Chinese tech growth and protectionism.
- POLITICS: Due to the vagaries of the Electoral College, the 2024 election will probably be decided by a relative handful of votes in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, all of which are industrial states with strong protectionist leanings.
- NOSTALGIA: Like Trump, Biden is old enough to remember and celebrate the 1950s–a time of strong unions, rising wages, low levels of inequality, and American manufacturing predominance. Unlike Trump, he actually cares about workers. Protectionism appears to be a way to bring back those days of industrial glory.
I read a column a few months back which made the case that we need a generation of leaders that can’t remember the 1950s. To be honest with you, I think the writer was correct. We need to see the world as it is today, not as it was 70 years ago.