The White House released a list of countries and the tariff rates they charged the US. It was clearly wrong as NZ has an average tariff of around 1.7% on US imports and the list said 20%. I thought it was because they were including our GST of 15%. That would have been very dumb, […]
Trump’s tariff claims are even stupider than anyone thought
Trump’s tariff claims are even stupider than anyone thought
04 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tariffs
Two Questions and Four Ironies About Trump’s Tariffs
03 Apr 2025 1 Comment
in history of economic thought, international economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tariffs
The tariffs also bring to mind several ironies: I only have the time, and frankly the stomach, to put down these few quick thoughts on this one. More later. ** Postscript: Tariffs rather than immigration is the topic of the day, but I was reminded in perusing the Declaration of Independence for this post that…
Two Questions and Four Ironies About Trump’s Tariffs
The Protectionism Edition of Economics Humor
01 Apr 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, history of economic thought, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
It appears that Trump wants to repeat the mistakes of the 1930s with a global trade war. That is going to be very bad news for workers, consumers, taxpayers, manufacturers, farmers, and exporters. But there are two bits of good news. At least for small slices of the populations First, lobbyists will get rich as […]
The Protectionism Edition of Economics Humor
U.S. Trade Deficit Do Not Mean that We Americans Are Living Beyond Our Means
31 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, industrial organisation, international economics, labour supply Tags: free trade, tariffs
TweetHere’s a note to a new correspondent. Mr. P__: Thanks for your feedback on Phil Gramm’s and my piece, in yesterday Wall Street Journal, on trade deficits. You believe that I “and Sen. Gramm omit that every US trade deficit means Americans are consuming more than they are producing, a habit that is unsustainable.” With…
U.S. Trade Deficit Do Not Mean that We Americans Are Living Beyond Our Means
Commerce Secretary Lutnick Is Among Those Government Officials Who Are Ignorant of Basic Economic Facts
21 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, industrial organisation, international economics, market efficiency, politics - USA, survivor principle, transport economics Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a note to the Highland County Press. Editor: Commerce secretary Howard Lutnick asserts that NAFTA allowed U.S. automobile producers to “screw” American auto workers by shifting auto-industry production to Mexico and Canada (“Trump Cabinet members: Tariff plans are working; tariffs could eliminate federal income tax for those earning less than $150,000,” March 20). Mr.…
Commerce Secretary Lutnick Is Among Those Government Officials Who Are Ignorant of Basic Economic Facts
How Much Do Tariffs Raise Prices?
08 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economic history, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tariffs
We break down how much of a tariff is ‘passed through’ to customersBy Jason Douglas, Anthony DeBarros and Danny Dougherty of The WSJ. Excerpts:”For example, a 10% tariff on shoes from China would raise their sticker price 4% or so, but on wine or olive oil from Italy, almost 10%.Why the difference? Tariffs aren’t the…
How Much Do Tariffs Raise Prices?
Peter Navarro Conducts a Master Class In Looking Only at That Which Is Seen
06 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, International law, survivor principle Tags: current account, free trade, tariffs
TweetHere’s a letter to USA Today. Editor: Defending Pres. Trump’s aluminum tariffs, Peter Navarro focuses exclusively on the effects of these tariffs on U.S. aluminum producers (“Trump tariffs will save American jobs and level the playing field,” Feb. 28). He points out what no serious defender of free trade denies, namely, that punitive taxation of…
Peter Navarro Conducts a Master Class In Looking Only at That Which Is Seen
More Deficient Economic Thinking
03 Mar 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: current account, free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a letter to the Wall Street Journal. Editor: Anthony deBarros and Peter Santilli report on “the countries fueling America’s $1.2 trillion goods trade deficit” (March 1). With respect, what’s the point of such a report? Eighty percent of U.S. GDP is produced by the service sector – implying that the vast majority of Americans…
More Deficient Economic Thinking
The Spectacular Economic Ignorance of Peter Navarro
20 Feb 2025 1 Comment
in applied price theory, Austrian economics, history of economic thought, industrial organisation, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, survivor principle, unemployment Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, tarrifs
TweetHere’s a letter to the New York Times. Editor: Encountering, in David Leonhardt’s report, a summary of Peter Navarro’s attempted justifications of Trump’s tariffs makes the head spin (“A Disagreement on Tariffs,” February 18). Navarro’s arguments are so illogical, self-contradictory, and economically ignorant that they’d be merely laughable were he not an advisor to the…
The Spectacular Economic Ignorance of Peter Navarro
Some Links
06 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, economic history, history of economic thought, international economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, free trade, game theory, tariffs
TweetNational Review‘s Charles Cooke explains that Trump’s trade war is needless. Two slices: How do I hate President Trump’s capricious levying of tariffs? Let me count the ways. They are constitutionally suspect, statutorily usurpative, diplomatically toxic, and culturally chaotic; they represent a profound political risk for the new administration — the potential upsides of which…
Some Links
…And the Really Stupid Sh*t Begins
02 Feb 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, income redistribution, industrial organisation, international economic law, international economics, International law, politics - USA, Public Choice Tags: 2024 presidential election, Canada, China, free trade, Mexico, tariffs
Trump’s first few weeks have been a mix of good and bad for this libertarian, all against a backdrop of horror at how Imperial the presidency has become. But as of today, perhaps the most destructive and stupid initiative has begun: Because we are all tired of those fentanyl-toting Canadians crossing the border illegally. I…
…And the Really Stupid Sh*t Begins
Historian Anthony Comegna reviews Marc-William Palen’s book Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World
23 Sep 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, development economics, history of economic thought, international economics Tags: economics of colonialism, free trade, tariffs
See When Leftists Were Free Traders: In Pax Economica, historian Marc-William Palen chronicles the left-wing history of free trade. From Reason magazine.Dr. Marc-William Palen is a historian at the University of Exeter. His Ph. D. is from The University of Texas.The review is very good. Here is the Amazon link for the book: Pax Economica:…
Historian Anthony Comegna reviews Marc-William Palen’s book Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free Trade World
Globalization is Win-Win
11 Apr 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, comparative institutional analysis, development economics, economic history, industrial organisation, international economics Tags: free trade
TweetIn this wonderful new video, John Stossel and Scott Lincicome bust six myths – peddled by the likes of Trump and Biden – about globalization. The post Globalization is Win-Win appeared first on Cafe Hayek.
Globalization is Win-Win
An Open Letter to Nobel-laureate Economist Angus Deaton
13 Mar 2024 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, applied welfare economics, Austrian economics, comparative institutional analysis, economic history, entrepreneurship, history of economic thought, income redistribution, international economics, labour economics, labour supply, poverty and inequality, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle, unemployment Tags: creative destruction, free trade, tariffs
TweetProf. Angus Deaton Princeton University Prof. Deaton: Over the years I’ve learned much from your writings, and I regard your 2013 The Great Escape as one of the most important books published in the past 15 years. So I was quite surprised and disappointed to read that you, as you say, are now “much more…
An Open Letter to Nobel-laureate Economist Angus Deaton
NZ should go further than Australia
13 Mar 2024 Leave a comment
in international economics, politics - New Zealand Tags: free trade, tariffs
New Zealand sensibly got rid of most tariffs years ago. We should go further than Australia plans to do and abolish the rest: The Taxpayers’ Union is renewing its calls to abolish all tariffs following reports that Australia plans to unilaterally abolish nearly 500 of its tariffs. Taxpayers’ Union Campaigns Manager, Connor Molloy, said: “With the stroke […]
NZ should go further than Australia
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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