President Joe Biden is defending globalist free trade, blasting a plan by former President Trump that would set across-the-board 10 percent tariffs on all foreign imports to the United States.
For decades, Washington, DC, lawmakers have championed a free trade consensus despite the policy’s proven record of gutting working and middle class American communities by making it easier for multinational corporations to outsource U.S. jobs to low-wage foreign countries and import their products back into the American market.
Trump, the front-runner in the GOP presidential primary, proposed a plan this week that would see 10 percent tariffs slapped on all foreign imports to the U.S. in an effort to protect American workers as well as their jobs and wages.
In response, Biden spokesman Andrew Bates told Politico that the president “strongly opposes” putting U.S. tariffs on foreign imports, claiming the policy would “hurt hardworking families with higher prices and higher inflation…”
“Combining a sweeping tariff tax on the middle class with more trickle-down tax welfare for rich special interests would stifle economic growth and fuel inflation,” Bates said.
Tariffs, though, are opposed by the likes of the Business Roundtable, Wall Street, and the Chamber of Commerce — all of which represent the wealthiest executives and biggest corporations in the U.S.
Likewise, there is no evidence that tariffs raise inflation or prices on consumers.
Analysis by Breitbart News has shown that tariffs do not raise prices on Americans. The latest research from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) notes that there is no connection between U.S. tariffs and current inflation.
“The timing of the tariffs clearly shows no correlation with inflation and eliminating tariffs could not plausibly restrain it,” EPI researchers write. “The bulk of the tariffs were in place before 2020, yet inflation only began accelerating in March 2021. Clearly, inflation was driven by many sources besides tariffs.”
Biden’s own U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued extensive research that shows the devastation globalization has had on working and middle class Americans:
Another union representative stated that current trade agreements allow for more capital mobility than the agreements prior to the 1980s, enabling auto, electronics, and steel manufacturers to move overseas for any number of reasons. Various union representatives explained that companies are able to use the threat of moving jobs overseas for various reasons — such as better tax implications and lower wages — to limit the power of labor unions and keep domestic wages down. [Emphasis added]
Research last year from the Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) finds that imposing 15 percent on all foreign imports with 35 percent tariffs on products in vital supply chains would create about 10 million American jobs and generate over $600 billion in new revenue.
Meanwhile, a Morning Consult poll shows a majority of 61 percent of American voters say an increase in foreign imports has made the U.S. dependent on foreign countries — mainly, China. As a result, voters said they would like to see tariffs used to remedy the issue and protect American industries, while just 16 percent disagreed.
Republicans are the most likely to support tariffs and oppose free trade.
The latest New York Times/Siena College poll reveals that nearly 70 percent of likely GOP voters say the American economy “has lost out from increased trade because it has cost jobs” while only a minority of 17 percent said “increased trade” has helped the U.S. by lowering consumer prices.
Among non-college-educated white working-class GOP voters, 73 percent said free trade costs U.S. jobs, while 70 percent of non-college-educated, non-white working class GOP voters said the same.
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.