JBJ argues against tariffs in 1998.
Do we as Christians believe in “nationalism”? No, we don’t. We believe in the international, catholic, universal community of the Church. We also should believe in international, catholic, universal free markets and free trade. There is no Christian justification for using the power of the state to prevent “foreigners” from selling their wares wherever they wish. -James B. Jordan
Cory Doctorow argues that maybe tariffs are sometimes quite good, but not the current ones.
Trump is doing mirror-world tariffs: tariffs without industrial policy, tariffs without social safety nets, tariffs without retraining, tariffs without any strategic underpinning. -Cory Doctorow
I don’t know what I think about tariffs. I’m still thinking about it, I guess, and I’m okay not having a solid opinion on this and so many other things.
I don’t think too many people had an opinion on tariffs last year. Now, everyone is expected to have an opinion on tariffs. I suspect that most people didn’t even know what a tariff was last year. Despite all the talk at present, I suspect that most people still don’t know what a tariff is.