Thoughts on Implementing Tariffs

Tariffs serve as a legitimate tool for national economic strategy, distinct from domestic taxation. Unlike income taxes—which some argue restrict individual earnings—tariffs function as a fee imposed on foreign entities seeking access to a nation’s markets. Their purpose is not coercion but reciprocity: ensuring that trade benefits domestic industries and workers as much as it does foreign corporations.

A purely libertarian approach, which treats citizens and non-citizens equally in commerce, overlooks the practical reality that governments have a responsibility to prioritize their own people’s prosperity. Protective tariffs encourage investment in domestic production, incentivize compliance with local labor and environmental standards, and help balance trade relationships that might otherwise exploit disparities in wages or regulations.

Used strategically, tariffs could even reduce reliance on income taxes by shifting part of the fiscal burden to those outside the nation who profit from its market. Without such measures, there’s a risk of offshoring jobs, eroding domestic industries, and becoming dependent on artificially cheap goods produced under exploitative conditions abroad.

Fair trade doesn’t always mean equal trade. A nation’s market should serve its citizens first—not through isolationism, but through smart policies that safeguard livelihoods, foster self-sufficiency, and ensure foreign competitors pay their fair share for access to American consumers."