The Folly of Reciprocal Tariffs

“Whatever they tax us, we tax them.” ~ Donald Trump

On April 2—President Trump’s “Liberation Day”—he imposed, then changed, and then delayed, reciprocal tariffs on nearly all U.S. trading partners. Said Trump: “We’re going to charge countries for doing business in our country and taking our jobs, taking our wealth, taking a lot of things that they’ve been taking over the years.”

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Foreign firms don’t pay tariffs for the privilege of se...