President Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’

President Trump is set to impose sweeping reciprocal tariffs on April 2, which are designed to level the playing field between American free enterprise and foreign state-backed rivals.

“April 2 is going to be liberation day for America,” according to the president. I hope he means this literally. Liberation Day—a triumphant assertion of America’s economic dominance and independence—should be celebrated alongside Independence Day every year. Why?

Economics and politics—money and power—are two sides of the same coin. Without economic independence, like the ability to manufacture our own steel, machinery, and semiconductors, there can be no political independence. America’s Founding Fathers learned this hard-fought lesson in the Revolutionary War, but somewhere along the way, we forgot this wisdom.

Over the last five decades, America has offshored trillions of dollars worth of economic production—everything from our most basic necessities to cutting-edge technologies—to our economic rivals. We are at the point where America depends on Chinese imports to maintain our wealth and security. This is beyond foolish—it is suicidal.

President Trump’s tariffs are the last, best chance we have to liberate America from the shackles of economic globalism.

In Rushmore’s Shadow

Contrary to popular belief, the greatest threat to the American Revolution was not the disciplined redcoats or the ruthless Hessians, but the fact that the Thirteen Colonies could not manufacture enough textiles, firearms, or powder to fight the British—the erstwhile supplier of these goods. It was not until other European powers—particularly the French and Dutch—began supplying the Continental Army that the tide turned. For example, the French alone provided over 80,000 muskets, without which the war could not be fought, much less won.

President George Washington learned the hard-fought lesson that political freedom flows from economic freedom, writing:

A free people ought not only to be armed, but disciplined; to which end a uniform and well-digested plan is requisite; and their safety and interest require that they should promote such manufactories as tend to render them independent of others for essential, particularly military, supplies . . .

To this end, President Washington’s first major piece of legislation was the Tariff Act of 1789, which raised taxes on imported manufactured goods, thereby encouraging American industry. Perhaps these tariffs made America’s economy less economically “efficient,” but they no doubt made the nation far more politically and militarily efficient. The anti-tariff crowd forgets that America is not a work camp but a nation with values that transcend money.

Thomas Jefferson was initially critical of Washington’s plan, but the War of 1812 brought him on board. America and the British Empire again found themselves at war, but this time, America could supply many of its own firearms and textiles—despite Britain’s blockade. In a letter from 1816, Jefferson admitted:

. . .experience has taught me that manufactures are now as necessary to our independence as to our comfort: and if those who quote me as of a different opinion will keep pace with me in purchasing nothing foreign where an equivalent of domestic fabric can be obtained, without regard to difference of price [we would be well-off] . . .

Throughout the 19th century, America’s leaders continued to use tariffs to build American industry from scratch. For example, the Tariff Act of 1816 unified America’s tariff policy, which was at that point a patchwork quilt of different tax rates imposed on different products. It also doubled the average tariff rates. Relatively high tariffs remained the norm in America until the 1970s, when the tariff walls came crashing down.

It was under the American System of tariffs—which were supported by the bulk of our Founding Fathers and every president carved on Mount Rushmore—that the United States transformed from an agricultural colonial backwater into an industrial powerhouse.

By 1870 America was the second largest industrial power in the world, behind only Great Britain. By the 1880s, America produced a quarter of the world’s industrial output, and our share continued to grow. We remained the most productive nation in the world for the next 150 years, until China stole the title in 2010. Now, America’s share of global industrial output has fallen to about 17%—half what it was during our industrial golden age.

Ashes to ashes, dust to dust

In the 1970s, America abandoned the wisdom of protectionism and instead embraced economic globalism—international “free” trade and easy fiat money. This has resulted in the offshoring of factories, the neutering of America’s industry, and the impoverishment of the American people. Tied to this is the fact that America has become economically dependent on foreign countries like China to supply basic necessities.

To begin with, it is worth noting that America’s economy has grown more “colonial” every year since abandoning tariffs. Prior to the American Revolution, the 13 colonies were locked into a mercantile trade relationship with Great Britain: the colonies were forced to import high-value manufactured goods like firearms and sell low-value agricultural products like tobacco.

This mercantile policy was deliberately instituted by Great Britain to do three things: first, ensure that the colonies remained placidly dependent on Britain; second, increase the market for British manufacturing, thereby increasing the size of British industry; and third, enrich Britain by concentrating the economy on value-added production. Essentially, Britain would piggyback on America’s markets.

Britain’s strategy worked. Consider that by the 1770s, nearly one in five British men worked in manufacturing. This high employment was buoyed by colonial demand for British products. In fact, demand from colonies alone accounted for 72% of the growth in British manufacturing between 1700 and 1773. During this period, the percentage of manufactured goods as an overall proportion of British exports grew from 4% to 27.4%. Likewise, Britain’s trade surplus with the Colonies grew from £67,000 (1721-30) to £739,000 (1761-70)—in a few decades, it was eleven times as large.

Of course, the opposite was true for the colonies. Trade with Great Britain was parasitic, and it impoverished and agitated the colonies to the point of revolution.

Unfortunately, history repeats itself. America is again falling into the mercantile trap—this time with China. A picture is worth a thousand words. Below are four visualizations. The first two compare U.S. imports from China in 2001 and 2021. As you can clearly see, the share of technologically sophisticated manufacturing bought from China increased dramatically. For example, the share of computers increased from 6.02% to 10.8% in two decades. Meanwhile, the share of low-value imports decreased, such as footwear and toys.

Figure 1 United States Imports from China (2001)Figure 2 United States Imports from China (2021)

The next two visualizations compare the composition of America’s exports to China. These tell a very different story. In 2001, America exported a plethora of high-value, technologically sophisticated products. As you can see, half of our total exports consisted of advanced manufacturing and technology. This supported America’s cutting-edge industries and millions of lucrative jobs.

In 2021, our export profile shifted dramatically. As you can clearly see, much of America’s exports now constitute raw materials—soybeans, corn, and petroleum—as opposed to computers or aircraft. This export profile resembles something that a dispassionate observer would associate with somewhere in Africa or South America as opposed to the richest country on earth.Figure 3 United States Exports to China (2001)

Figure 4 United States Exports to China (2021)

Perhaps it goes without saying—but I will say it anyways—as loudly and often as I can—America is buying the future rather than building it. In doing so, we are sacrificing our industrial might and political independence on the altar of economic globalism.

President Trump’s tariffs are America’s last chance to reverse the damage and revive the American Dream. If not, be prepared to welcome the rise of China and the fall of the West.