Economist Thomas Sowell suggested that President Donald Trump may be taking a “ruinous” approach to tariffs and international trade.
Sowell commented on Trump’s trade policies during an interview on April 1, a day before Trump enacted sweeping tariffs on dozens of countries. The “Liberation Day” announcement, as the White House billed it, put in place a system of “reciprocity” on international trade where foreign countries are tariffed in accordance with the trade barriers they impose on the United States.
Prior to Liberation Day, Trump has vacillated on tariffs and tariff threats to allies and adversaries. Sowell was critical of Trump’s handling of foreign trade, comparing the president’s tactics to those of the 1920s that contributed to the 1929 Great Depression and the tepid U.S. recovery in the 1930s.
“It’s painful to see what a ruinous decision, from back in…
