Currencies

The Hyperion Ray, a 650-foot long vehicle cargo ship, entering the Columbia River from South Korea to deliver cars to Portland. Photo: Jeffrey St. Clair. With Trump threatening to impose big taxes (tariffs) on imports from all our major trading partners, many people are desperate to find some grand scheme that would justify this seeming absurdity. Just to be clear, as economic policy, Trump’s tariffs are absurd. There can be arguments for tariffs as part of an industrial policy that tries to foster certain industries considered strategic. This was the...