David Frum: “No American business—no business that serves the American market—will commit to any capital expenditure under these conditions. If Trump’s tariffs last for any length of time, the result will be a vast disinvestment instead. The worst of the pain may not be felt immediately. Trump advertised the tariffs many weeks in advance, opening an opportunity for businesses to stockpile inventories. Sooner or later, however, those stockpiles will dwindle. Consumers will face higher prices or outright shortages. Businesses will suffer diminished demand. Workers will be laid off.”
“The only early hope is that the president who set the maelstrom going will panic and try to stop the wreckage. But he seems just as likely, perhaps more so, to make that damage worse.”
