Krugman: Trump's tariffs repeat strategy that could be seen as illegal

Nobel economics winner Paul Krugman stated that the new round of tariffs announced by the Donald Trump administration repeats a strategy that, in his assessment, has little chance of surviving judicial scrutiny.

"Here we go again, with another round of tariffs that will probably be considered illegal in a few months," he wrote in an article published this Thursday (4).

According to Krugman, the White House has resorted to broad interpretations of trade laws to impose surcharges without congressional approval. He recalls that part of the previous tariffs have already been overturned by the US Supreme Court and argues that the administration seeks successive legal justifications to maintain the policy.

The criticism was published after the USTR (Office of the US Trade Representative) announced a new investigation against several trading partners, including the European Union, Japan and Brazil.

Washington maintains that these countries fail to "effectively impose and enforce a ban on the import of goods produced with forced labor."

For Krugman, the justification is untenable.

"Everyone understands that the supposed justification for these tariffs is a lie," he says.

He adds that there is no reason to believe that the EU or other partners are less strict than the US in combating forced labor and calls the measure "a clearly false justification" for continuing to disregard both US law and international agreements.

Brazil is among those most affected by the new proposal. The USTR classified Brazilian products in the highest surcharge range, 12.5%, the day after recommending an additional tariff of 25% on national exports for alleged "irrational" commercial practices.

According to Amcham Brasil, some goods may face accumulated tariffs of up to 37.5%.

Krugman also argues that the tariffs have failed in their stated goals, such as revitalizing American industry. Furthermore, he notes that the measures are widely unpopular.

Quoting a Harris Poll survey, it highlights that 64% of Republicans, 67% of independents and 77% of Democrats believe that the tariffs raised the prices paid by consumers.

Still, Krugman assesses that Trump is unlikely to abandon tariff policy, as this "would amount to admitting failure", he wrote.

Then he joked about the possibility of a change of course: "And if you believe he will do that, perhaps you also believe in a quick and easy victory over Iran."

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Source: CNN