With the Supreme Court reviewing Trump’s tariffs, conversations have renewed over the tariffs’ efficacy, impacts and necessity. Trump advertised the tariffs as part of his “America First” strategy, aimed at combating predatory foreign trade deals and improving the U.S. international position. However, “America First” fails to acknowledge the global and domestic benefits of a free-trade U.S. and the responsibility it has as a world economic leader.
In the aftermath of WWII, the United States built the world economic order around itself. These actions created a global trade network anchored to the U.S., which benefited greatly from this advantageous position and became the largest economy in the world.
U.S. actions made foreign countries heavily reliant on the United States for their economic welfare, and the U.S., in turn, benefits from foreign economic growth because of the free trade network it built. An “America First” strategy threatens the very network that made the American economy great and weakens its world leader status.
The cracks are already starting to form from Trump’s protectionist policies. Recent IMF data predict global GDP growth to slow by next year, and the U.S. trade deficit has only worsened in the first half of 2025 due to allies cutting U.S. exports in retaliation. Inflation pressures are rising everywhere due to the uptick in trade barriers spurred by Trump, threatening the stability of the global economy. On a local level, Americans are struggling with rising living costs from tariff price increases and a weakened job market from lower foreign demand.
If the United States wants to strengthen its economy and maintain its position as the world’s economic leader, it has the responsibility of protecting the free trade connections that gave it that status, for both the global economy and the American citizens it serves.
Gabriella Grover, Salt Lake City
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