Last year’s massive tax code overhaul lowered corporate income tax rates to an internationally competitive level for the first time in decades. U.S.-based businesses can now compete against their foreign counterparts without starting from an immediate disadvantage, thanks to Uncle Sam. The change should result in faster growth, higher wages and more jobs. Unfortunately, those gains may be undone this year with a wrong step on trade.
Take the Trump administration’s recent decision to impose tariffs on washing machines and solar panels from Chinese and South Korean manufacturers. The cost to consumers could rise to a level where buying a washer isn’t worth the price. News reports mention similar measures being imposed on aluminum and steel imports.
Yet no matter how costly these protectionist moves are, their effects pale in comparison with what the impact would be if we withdrew from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), writes Veronique de Rugy.
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