Reagan said tariffs hurt every American

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 12.18.25

Trump calls tariffs “my favorite word.” When a Canadian ad included audio of Ronald Reagan criticizing tariffs, a childish Trump lied that it was fake, cancelled trade negotiations and hiked Canada’s tariffs. Reagan’s economic adviser Bruce Bartlett called Trump a “baby” and the ad “100% accurate.”

See for yourself! Google “Reagan’s Radio Address on Free and Fair Trade” and hear him say: “Trade barriers hurt every American worker and consumer. For those of us who lived through the Great Depression, the memory of the suffering it caused is deep and searing.” Reagan noted that economists and historians say tariffs “greatly deepened the depression and prevented economic recovery.”

Trump’s tariffs are the centerpiece of his disastrous trade war. Reagan warned against Trump’s short-sighted belief that tariffs put America first: “When someone says, ‘Let’s impose tariffs on foreign imports,’ it looks like they’re doing the patriotic thing by protecting American products and jobs. And sometimes for a short while it works — but only for a short time. What eventually occurs is: homegrown industries start relying on government protection in the form of high tariffs. They stop competing and making the innovative management and technological changes they need to succeed in world markets. Then, something even worse occurs. High tariffs inevitably lead to retaliation by foreign countries and the triggering of fierce trade wars. The result is more and more tariffs, higher and higher trade barriers, and less and less competition. Soon, because of prices made artificially high by tariffs that subsidize inefficiency and poor management, people stop buying. Then the worst happens: Markets shrink and collapse; businesses and industries shut down; and millions of people lose their jobs.”

Trump ignored Reagan’s warning and launched what The Wall Street Journal called “The dumbest trade war in history,” which China is winning. Unemployment jumped to 4.4%, its highest rate in four years. We’re all paying the price for Trump’s disastrous tariffs.

Rich Cooper

Leland