The America First Standard #8: Wall Street fears an America First trade policy
Last Wednesday, President Donald Trump announced an across-the-board tariff policy to the American public and the world at-large,
Here is an excerpt of the Trump administration’s “America First” executive order concerning global trade:
“I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that underlying conditions, including a lack of reciprocity in our bilateral trade relationships, disparate tariff rates and non-tariff barriers, and U.S. trading partners’ economic policies that suppress domestic wages and consumption, as indicated by large and persistent annual U.S. goods trade deficits, constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and economy of the United States. That threat has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States in the domestic economic policies of key trading partners and structural imbalances in the global trading system. I hereby declare a national emergency with respect to this threat …
Sec. 3. Implementation. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this order, all articles imported into the customs territory of the United States shall be, consistent with law, subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent. Such rates of duty shall apply with respect to goods entered for consumption, or withdrawn from warehouse for consumption, on or after 12:01 a.m. eastern daylight time on April 5, 2025 “
This groundbreaking executive order comes on the heels of decades of unfair trade policies that have robbed the American nation of its industrial base and manufacturing policy. President Trump’s “America First” trade and manufacturing policy plans to revitalize the American economy and nation at-large by fixing the persistently unfair trade policies that have robbed average Americans in Middle America of jobs and wealth. This policy will impose a 10% tariff on all countries starting today, and some countries (such as China, Japan, and the EU) will incur reciprocal tariffs exceeding 10% depending on the country’s level of trade imbalances and tariffs on United States goods.
The Twitter/X posts below from the White House account show the country-by-country tariff levels that the Trump administration has enacted:
If you’ve watched the news in the past day, then you probably know that Wall Street has reacted quite poorly to President Trump’s “America First” trade policy. The S&P 500 market index fell by almost 5% yesterday—which is the index’s single worst day since 2020. Additionally, this equity index experienced a roughly $2.5 trillion dollar loss in value just one day after Trump’s tariff policy announcement.
Over the past few days, the Regime media and Wall Street corporate interests have lambasted the Trump administration over its trade policies, Most media headlines right now are weaponizing the American public’s concerns of inflation and a recession.
That being said, the media gaslighting over tariffs is reminiscent of the COVID-19 fearmongering during 2020 and 2021. Tariffs are a massive concern for “America Last”, globalist corporations that have offshored their production and labor to foreign countries with cheap labor and low business regulation. Globalist corporations have been the primary beneficiaries of “free trade” policies over the past 75 years.
Terrible trade policies such as GATT (1947) and NAFTA (1994) robbed numerous American workers of their well-paying jobs while simultaneously enriching large corporations with access to cheaper labor and materials. A 2014 publication from the US International Trade Commission details some of the negative impacts that NAFTA inflicted American workers after 20 years—such as job displacement and declining job quality in the United States.
On the other hand, tariffs have historically played an important role in the development of American industry and boosting the wages of American workers. For example, tariffs on steel imports during the 1st Trump administration created thousands of new jobs and led to billions of new investment in the American steel industry.
What’s more, many of the Founding Fathers and other early American leaders heavily supported tariffs as part of a robust industrial policy in early America. Alexander Hamilton, George Washington, James Madison, and other key statesmen freed the American people from the influence of Great Britain and other foreign interlopers by protecting and developing our nation by imposing tariffs on foreign goods,
America’s protectionist policies did not just stop with the Founding Fathers. Our nation’s storied protectionist heritage continued throughout the 19the century with great US Senator Henry Clay and later US President William McKinley. American industry prospered and our nation grew in size, power, and wealth during this golden age of protectionism from the American Founding until the early 20th century.
Fast forward to today, President Donald Trump is following the footsteps of great American protectionists—Washington, Hamilton, McKinley and more. A truly “America First” trade policy does not stand to benefit Wall Street globalist corporations, and America’s ruling class. That reason is why the Wall Street Journal op-ed section, ultra-liberal Silicon Valley titans, and libertarian billionaires like the Koch family are all united against President Trump’s “America First” tariff policy.
Let’s hope that President Trump and his administration will continue to put the America people first by following in the footsteps of America’s legendary protectionist heroes of the past.
