Donald Trump’s ill-conceived tariffs on steel and aluminum could trigger a devastating loss of American jobs. From Axios:
President Trump's proposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum will increase U.S. employment in those sectors by 33,000 jobs, but cost 179,000 jobs in other areas of the economy, according to a new report by The Trade Partnership, a consulting firm. This isn't accounting for any potential retaliation from other countries.
The Trade Partnership says for every one job these tariffs create, five jobs will be lost. As noted in the report below, that doesn’t even account for retribution by other countries, which will undoubtedly cost even more American jobs.
Services sectors are hit the hardest for several reasons. First, as the largest component of the U.S. economy, services are key inputs into the output of every U.S.sector, so as manufacturing, agriculture and energy output decline, so too do services output and related jobs. Second, consumers have reduced spending power when they are hit by higher costs (of a new car, a new washing machine, etc.) and, for many, lost wages from unemployment. As a result, households pull back on spending; services like education, entertainment and even healthcare are on the front lines of the spending reduction impacts, with additional attendant job losses.We are also able to disaggregate the employment effects by skill level. High-skilled jobs (managers, professionals, technicians and related workers) account for one-third of the net job losses. Low-skilled workers (production workers, machine operators, office workers, administrative workers, sales/shops staff, and farm workers) bear the brunt of the tariffs, accounting for two-thirds of the total job losses.
From beer companies to auto manufacturers, the tariffs are causing outrage and warnings of impending job losses:
Even Republicans in the House and the Senate are saying this is a terrible idea that will harm American families:
More from Vox:
“We are extremely worried about the consequences of a trade war and are urging the White House to not advance with this plan,” said Ryan spokesperson AshLee Strong in a statement on Monday. “The new tax reform law has boosted the economy and we certainly don’t want to jeopardize those gains.”
Ryan’s office also sent a mass email to reporters on Monday linking to a CNBC articlethat said the stock markets had dropped in response to Trump’s tariffs.
Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX), chair of the House Ways and Means Committee, which oversees trade policy, met Trump at the White House twice last week to make the case against the tariffs and suggest alternative proposals for how to revive American steel.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) has been campaigning fiercely to turn public opinion against Trump’s tariffs. “You’re punishing the American taxpayers, and you are making a huge mistake,” Graham said Sunday on Face the Nation, in remarks directed at the president.
This president is going to spin us into a full-blown trade war with Europe and our allies around the world, a longtime goal of Vladmir Putin to destabilize the U.S. and European economies.
See more on the Trade Partnership’s dire predictions in the report below.
Trade Partnership Employment Policy Brief by dailykos on Scribd