Should Tariffs be Used to Protect Domestic Jobs

Student’s Name
Professor’s Name
Course
Date
Macroeconomics
Chapter 9
Tariffs should be used to protect domestic jobs and businesses. But they should not be overused since they can ruin international trade relationships, pose threat to national security, or lead to an increased rate of unemployment. Tariffs should be used to control products and services that enter the United States of America (USA) in a way that safeguards the interest and profitability of domestic producers. Tunku Varadarajan’s “Why Trump’s Protectionism is Futile” reveals how the former president’s effort to protect domestic jobs through tariffs was futile. Trump clobbered American allies by imposing protectionist tariffs in a way that hurt the economy.
When imposing tariffs, the president should first understand the definition of better international trade. However, using zero-sum terms and perceiving everything based on losses and profits is not a good practice (Varadarajan 182). For instance, it would be unreasonable to assert that imports are bad for a country’s economy and that exports are good. International trade imbalances should not be perceived from the viewpoint that one nation is winning and the other is losing. There exist numerous things at stake, such as maintaining good trade relationships and not losing military allies by imposing high protectionist tariffs. As such, tariffs should not be overused to protect domestic jobs since some individuals are employed by import agencies. The government should only try to fa...