A fool and his trade war

President Trump's new tariffs are stupid. But are they disastrously stupid?

President Trump.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Mark Wilson/Getty Images, EPA-EFE/HOW HWEE YOUNG)

President Trump is finally getting his trade war.

Back in March, Trump announced tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports. But just as quickly, he granted exemptions to Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, among others. The hope was some sort of arrangement could be reached in the interim. But it wasn't to be. On Thursday, Trump slapped a 25 percent tariff on steel imports from Canada, Mexico, and the European Union, and a 10 percent tariff on their aluminum imports.

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Jeff Spross

Jeff Spross was the economics and business correspondent at TheWeek.com. He was previously a reporter at ThinkProgress.