1300+ Economists Roast Trump’s Tariffs: The Economic Mistake You Can’t Unsee

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Imagine a gathering of over 1,300 economists — yes, including brainy Nobel laureates and ex-policy bigwigs — collectively wagging their fingers at the Trump administration’s 2025 tariff fiesta, labeling it nothing short of a spectacular economic blunder.

When Economists and History Agree: Tariffs Are Trouble

In what might be the biggest economic group text ever, these number crunchers signed the “Anti-Tariff Declaration,” essentially a strongly worded letter to the universe protesting Trump’s tariff-heavy remix of trade policy. Spearheaded by Don Boudreaux and Phil Magness — who clearly enjoy a good protest — and featuring star power like Nobel Prize legends James Heckman and Vernon Smith, as well as former economic brains like N. Gregory Mankiw, this wasn’t your average economist gripe session.

These tariffs, slapped on rapid-fire by executive orders, are called the steepest trade-related tax hike in almost a century — in other words, a policy party that no one wants to attend. The economists point out that these moves have turned global supply chains into something resembling a Rube Goldberg machine gone rogue, all without the usual checks from Congress.

“The window to reverse these incoherent and damaging policies is closing,” the brainy declaration warns, but hey, they’re clinging to hope that facts, history, and plain old common sense will crash this protectionist party yet.

The declaration notes that while Trump’s team portrays these tariffs as a ticket to “economic liberation,” the reality is more like economic contraption chaos. These moves undermine key economic truths that have been around since forever: freer trade makes people richer and economies happier.

History lessons follow with a grim nod to the 1930 Smoot-Hawley Tariff, a classic bad idea that helped dump the world into the Great Depression. Fast forward to today’s tangled global economy, and the stakes are way higher. Mess this up, and it’s like playing Monopoly with exploding dice.

Oh, and there’s a legal twist: these economists say the president’s tariff tantrum ignores that Congress, not the executive branch, is meant to call the shots on trade rules. So, democracy’s got itself a bit of a situation.

The coalition pleads for a quick about-face, advocating a return to free trade — the economic equivalent of letting everyone play nicely and share their toys. Their case isn’t just dry numbers either; they reach all the way back to Jefferson and Washington, whose spirits are probably facepalming right now.

It’s rare to see economists unite across the political spectrum, but here they are, waving the “Enough with the nonsense” flag against what they call incoherent protectionism.

As expected, Trump tossed the critiques aside like yesterday’s tweet. Quoting him from Truth Social: “The businessmen who criticize tariffs are bad at business, but really bad at politics,” followed by the classic humblebrag, “I am the greatest friend that American capitalism has ever had.” 🤷‍♂️

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2025-04-22 00:01