And that was just after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin decided to put tariffs on China “on hold” to allow negotiations to continue. What was it that Sarah Palin once said about Obama’s foreign policy — that he was “coddling enemies and alienating allies”? Those tariffs on China might still be on — with this administration, inconstancy and idiocy seem to contend like wrestlers in a W.W.E. Protectionism anywhere is invariably bad for local consumers and the global economy, but American protectionism is infinitely worse. It’s a betrayal of the liberal-international order we founded nearly eight decades ago; an invitation to anti-Americanism; a rebuff to our friends; and sometimes (Boston Tea Party, anyone?)

Source: New York Times June 02, 2018 00:33 UTC