The White House announced new tariff rollbacks spanning Switzerland to Argentina, framing them as consumer relief. In a new statement, Cato trade expert Scott Lincicome says the administration is merely undoing self-inflicted damage, and ignoring the larger economic harm of its still-active tariffs:

“The administration’s reduction in US tariffs would be a welcome relief for American consumers and the economy more broadly, but let’s not kid ourselves here: The administration imposed these same tariffs just months ago, insisting they would not raise consumer prices. Many other unilateral tariffs remain in place, imposing similar harms on American families and companies.

The constant tariff changes make planning budgets, payrolls, and investments all but impossible. And, as last week’s Supreme Court proceedings demonstrated, the tariffs’ legality is dubious at best. The best course of action here — for consumers, companies, the US economy, and the world — is for the administration to eliminate all of these tariffs, instead of sporadically nixing a few of the most politically-sensitive ones because economic reality dared to intrude on their misguided trade adventurism”

To speak with Lincicome, or to get in touch with more of our trade team, feel free to reach out to Emily Salamon at esalamon@​cato.​org.