Trade Dynamics and Tariffs: A Closer Look

President Donald Trump is implementing sweeping tariffs to ostensibly tighten border security and crack down on the fentanyl trade. The moves include a 25 percent tariff on all steel and aluminum imports, blanket 10 percent tariffs on Chinese imports, and potentially steep tariffs on Mexican and Canadian goods. These actions could have monumental consequences for the global economy. 

Today on Lever Time, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh sits down with economist Brad Setser to discuss the history of tariffs, the complexity of the United States' trade relationships with Canada, Mexico, and China, and how the effects of these tariffs could potentially make the illegal drug trade worse. Setser was a senior adviser to the U.S. Trade Representative and writes about China’s export economy in his newsletter Follow the Money.