Tariffs are tools American leaders should have used to put Americans and American workers first. For the first time in decades, we will have a president willing to use them.

The specter of tariffs has spread amongst economists across the fruited plain. President-elect Donald Trump’s raising of the tariff issue is being interpreted as a call for autarky, or economic independence and self-sufficiency, not part of a negotiating strategy to achieve better trade deals and improved security for Americans. The reality, like many economic issues, is more complicated. The U.S. does not have a laissez-faire (zero tariffs) policy. Nor is Trump proposing a state of autarky (100 percent tariffs) to end international trade.

Tariff critics argue they have the potential to negatively affect U.S. businesses and consumers. One example is the domestic automotive industry based in Michigan, a manufacturing state key to Trump’s electoral victories in 2016 and 2024. Automotive supply chains extend into Ontario, Canada, and, further afield, to China. Auto firms have stated in filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that tariffs could affect their operations. Ford’s last annual filing states that “tariffs applied to goods traded between the U.S. and China could materially and adversely affect our business and results of operations.” In its annual filing, General Motors said, “We … rely upon an integrated global supply chain to deliver the raw materials, components, systems and parts that we need to manufacture our products” and that “new or higher tariffs” could affect their operations.   

There are other industries that have sounded similar warnings. But critics overstate their case when they claim Trumpian tariffs will lead to economic disaster or even another Great Depression. These arguments are simplistic and ignore remarks by Trump in his books and speeches about using tariffs as a deal-making tool. It also ignores his first-term record in the White House.