It’s not just the U.S., of course, that’s paying a price.
The International Monetary Fund cited the uncertainty caused by trade tensions as a major factor behind its downgraded global growth forecast earlier this month. In another paper released on Monday, economists from the World Bank and Dartmouth College argued the U.S. shift from decades of “rules-based” tariff policy to a “power-based” Trump model represented a major blow to global trade rules at odds with the long-term interests of either the U.S. or the world.
So far Trump and his team have dismissed contrary findings by offering their own studies and hailing broader gains in manufacturing jobs in a healthy economy as proof his trade policies are working.
The administration on Thursday countered the ITC’s negative findings on the auto sector by releasing its own estimates of a surge in jobs and investments -- some pre-existing -- as proof stricter auto rules in the USMCA will lead to more U.S. manufacturing.
Trump has appealed to farmers hit in the trade wars by invoking their patriotism. Other administration officials have sought to deny any negative impact. And then there is Hassett’s bitter pill approach.
“We’ve had these very bad trade deals, and we are taking the medicine to improve them,” Hassett said. But come 2020, will voters believe the prescription worked?
This article provided by Bloomberg News.