alt Hacker NewsTarrifs are the worst decision a politician can make.
The main reason we have open-ish border for people and goods is to reduce the risk of war. You are not going to wage war with a country that do business with.
This undermines this idea.
Replies
Then why did Canadian politicians tax milk products at > 200%? https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2024...
(starting long before the current trade war)
The idea that trade decreases the risk of war is old. It dates back to pre-WW1.
Think tanks around Europe were celebrating an "end to hostilities". And then WW1 happened. Trade does not prevent war. War is not always a rational consequence or act.
What does prevent war is a good standard of living. Eliminate resentment, and one of the great causes of war is lost.
Whether you need tariffs or not to ensure good standard of living I don't know. But the goal should always be to increase standard of living and uphold justice, tariffs or not.
There's never been a war the US has chosen not to start.
Maybe letting other countries rob us blind is worse. The US has hardly any factories left. Is that "peace" or is that just losing, slowly?
Open borders can be GREAT, but they can also be a point of vulnerability if we lose control of them