Trump claimed that his tariffs are creating jobs, without mentioning that nearly 500,000 Americans will lose their jobs due to his trade war.
Video of MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle delivering the facts:
Trump said, “Now, thanks to our tariffs, our steelworkers are back on the job, American steel mills are back open for business. We are starting to set new records, and nobody believed it could happen this quickly.”
The facts from Ruhle:
He’s not completely wrong. For U.S. Steel manufacturers, things are good, and 18% spike in prices has doubled profits for some firms, but that kind of prosperity comes at a cost to other industries that still rely on steel imports for their production. When gains are offset by losses in other industries, tariffs well, they don’t look for great for all of America. Tariffs and retaliation could increase employment in U.S. Steel and aluminum manufacturing by an estimated 26,000 jobs but the same report found those 26,000 jobs come at a cost of almost — wait for it — 500,000 jobs across the rest of the U.S. Economy. A net loss of nearly 470,000 jobs.
There are groups that have broken out job loss estimates by industry. The Auto industry seeing between 18 to 40,000 lost by the end of next year, and with tariffs on solar panels, the industry could see 23,000 this year with more cuts to come without a change in policy. Trump’s tariffs on Chinese tariffs and retaliatory duties on imports might result in the loss of 134,000 jobs. 67,000 of those when the agriculture industry alone. There are plans in place for a $12 boost to assist the agricultural sector but if the trump administration compensated losses across all industries, that price tag could balloon — to $39 billion.
Tariffs are a net jobs loser, and they have a cumulative impact. The longer that the tariffs are in place, the more the job losses built. Tariffs are not a one time or short-term hit as Trump and his administration suggestion. History reveals that jobs losses grow as these sort of trade policies remain in place. The US Chamber of Commerce has warned that Trump’s trade policies could put 2.6 million jobs at risk. The Tax Foundation estimates that Trump’s tariffs are going to lower worker wages by 0.31%.
Trump’s tariffs are a losing strategy and his efforts to sell them as a job creator, while the loses in the rest of the economy, is why his statement is a lie.
For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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