Trumps tariff barrage: Letters to the Editor April 9, 2025
The Issue: President Trump not backing down on global tariffs as markets churn and the world waits.I really hope President Trump knows what he is doing (“Don Euro trashes offer,” April 8).He is gambling with our futures.He says we need these tariffs, and that there will be initial pain, which he, Vice President JD Vance and the rest of the billionaires will feel — but not as hard as the average guy will.While I agree with some of Trump’s policies, the way he went about this one is reckless at best.
We are being taken advantage of by other countries, but that does not have to be addressed overnight.He has four years to remove decades of bad policies.Trump should remember that many voters are retired boomers (or those trying to retire).Chris PlateWaterlooTariffs will work; they always have.The question is: Will people be able to see past a short-term loss in their 401(k)? Or will they look at the future of their children instead, and see that Trump is preventing the eventual collapse of the US economy?Gary MarkmanBeacon Falls, Conn.Although some of Trump’s tariffs may be proposed for negotiating purposes, that is certainly not going to be true of all of them.I suspect the substantial tariff on auto imports will be permanent, even if the rate is adjusted a little.Trump is a strong believer in the domestic production of cars.
Even if a foreign country cuts its tariff down to zero, he will not reduce the American tariff to zero.In that sense, the tariff on foreign cars and components is not reciprocal.Regardless, as much as possible, he should find a way to avoid putting any additional financial burden on low-income individuals and families with these tariffs.Bruce CouchmanOttawa, CanadaTrump’s focus is, and always has been, on ruining the lives of the lower classes.
He just wants to implement a short-term reorienting of our economy so that we can get back to doing what America does best: Taking advantage of the needy.In time, these tariffs will liberate t...