Mark Penn: Get a grip, Wall Street

 Get a grip Wall Street

The tariff strategy is a risky but determined and certainly bold effort to undo the damage done to the manufacturing sectors of the American economy by unfair trade practices, especially from China. It is a reset of the global economic framework. Whether it works or not I can’t say, but the results will be for everyone to see and the president, who has been successful with some unorthodox strategies in the past, knows his presidency and the success of his party are at stake here. But the markets need to do the math. We only import 11 per cent of our economy and a 20 per cent tariff on half of all imports is only about 1 per cent added costs, most of which goes to reduce the deficit — less than a fraction the impact of sales taxes in virtually any state and these tariffs are often on selected components rather than the finished goods. Yes certain manufacturing industries are affected more than others but then they can search for substitutes and retool. And some brands can now boost their sales if they are made in America and after all that’s the whole point. Wall Street needs to get a grip here — we’ve been through real disasters like the pandemic and the 2008/9 crisis. If every state increased their sales tax 1 per cent the economy would not collapse. We even survived Biden’s 20 per cent inflation, a shock of far greater magnitude. America, remember, has the most adaptable, resilient and innovative economy in the world.

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