Engineering an Emergency

To put America first, we must put every American first.

Americans expect more than just slogans, we expect real results. At a policy level that means supporting American workers with good-paying jobs, revitalizing communities left behind by globalization and automation, and investing in the people who make this country run. We need policies that lower costs, increase wages, expand opportunity, and build bridges—both literal and economic. That includes investing in infrastructure, childcare, education, and entrepreneurship. It means upskilling for the jobs of tomorrow, not chasing the jobs of 50 years ago. If we want to lead the world, we must raise the bar on competitiveness, not lower it. Advancing American innovation, strengthening our supply chains, and enticing development that lifts up entire regions—not just cherry-picking winners. This should be our north star. That is how you truly put all of America first.

Instead, this administration is delivering chaos.

Today, the Dow Jones plunged over 1,500 points. Markets are panicked. Corporate leaders are scrambling. Global allies are threatening retaliation. The cause is no mystery. Trump has reignited his trade war, and this time it is even more aggressive.

“Liberation Day” or Economic Surrender?

From the Rose Garden, flanked by hard hats and American flags, Trump declared what he called “Liberation Day.” He unveiled a sweeping tariff regime that includes a 10 percent universal import tax on all foreign goods and punishing “reciprocal” tariffs: 34 percent on China, 20 percent on the European Union, and targeted fees on others including Vietnam and Taiwan. This is not a surgical strike. It is an economic shockwave.

Trump promised these actions would usher in a golden age of American industry. The markets responded with sharp rejection. The reaction has been swift and brutal. Stocks have plummeted, multinational firms are revising forecasts downward, and economists are warning of ripple effects across already fragile supply chains.

These tariffs go into effect within days. There is no room for industry to adapt or prepare. Trump calls them “common sense.” The economic math says otherwise.

Flawed Mathematics and Economic Illiteracy

Critics are not just questioning the strategy but the very math underpinning these tariffs. The administration claims these “reciprocal tariffs” are designed to match what other countries charge on U.S. goods. But the formula used is alarmingly simplistic.

As Ryan Petersen of Flexport and other trade experts revealed, the White House is calculating these tariffs by taking the U.S. trade deficit with a country and dividing it by the value of imports from that country. This crude method ignores almost every relevant economic factor.

Political scientist Ian Bremmer called the approach “incredibly stupid.” The math is detached from reality, and the consequences are real.

The Bigger Picture: Trade Balances Are Not Just Tariff Games

A country’s trade balance reflects far more than just tax rates. It is influenced by dozens of economic forces: the strength of the dollar, differences in consumer demand, energy independence, wage levels, access to raw materials, capital flows, demographics, automation, supply chain logistics, intellectual property rights, and more.

For example, the U.S. runs a trade deficit with Germany not because Germans are slapping unfair tariffs on us, but because Americans buy more cars and machinery than we sell them, and the U.S. dollar remains a global reserve currency—making our imports cheaper and exports more expensive.

Likewise, the trade deficit with China is tied to the fact that China serves as a final assembly hub for global supply chains. Slapping China with a 34 percent tariff punishes American companies sourcing intermediate goods, not just Beijing.

Trump’s approach flattens these complex dynamics into a one-dimensional talking point. In the process, it risks wrecking the very supply systems that American workers and companies depend on.

Lessons Ignored from 2016

We have seen this before. During Trump’s first term, he imposed tariffs on steel, aluminum, and hundreds of billions in Chinese goods. The results were clear.

• A trade war that hurt American farmers and exporters

• Retaliation from allies and adversaries alike

• Higher costs for consumers, from washing machines to beer

• Billions in taxpayer-funded bailouts to cover the damage

Despite the rhetoric, the trade deficit grew. Manufacturing jobs didn’t flood back. And inflationary pressures only worsened.

The Real Risk: Manufacturing an Emergency

Trump says this is about fairness. But this is not a policy designed to fix trade. It is a strategy built to provoke crisis.

The goal isn’t stability or growth. It is disruption. He is isolating the United States at a time when global cooperation is critical. China is expanding trade ties. The European Union is building new alliances. Meanwhile, the U.S. is waging tariff wars against both.

Tariffs are not just a political weapon. They are a tax. Every time a tariff is imposed, it filters down to higher prices for American consumers. The average family will soon feel it in the checkout aisle, at the gas pump, in online orders, and in car payments.

Working-class Americans—who were promised protection—will be hit hardest.

Chaos by Design

Let’s be clear. This is not about correcting trade imbalances or rebuilding American industry. It is about creating enough economic noise to manufacture a sense of crisis.

By engineering an emergency, Trump hopes to justify sweeping executive action and deepen the narrative of American victimhood. But the damage is real and immediate. Markets are recoiling. Allies are preparing to retaliate. Businesses are pausing investment. Supply chains are rattling.

And families across the country are about to pay the price for a policy born of ego, not economics.

Trump promised to fight for the forgotten American. But his tariffs do the opposite. They make daily life more expensive, global alliances more fragile, and our economic future more uncertain.

This is not economic strategy. It is economic sabotage.