Why he called tariffs ‘destroyers of jobs and prosperity
President Ronald Reagan’s thoughts on tariffs: pic.twitter.com/VT8oxW4X0E
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) April 3, 2025
Reagan’s views on tariffs were shaped by his commitment to free trade and his belief that protectionism can lead to economic disaster. In a 1988 radio address, he argued that “the freer the flow of world trade, the stronger the tides of human progress and peace among nations”
The Trump administration might want to read Reagan’s analysis here as thoroughly as possible and then subject it to their own analysis.
Reagan’s position here must have been guided by a Yorùbá proverb:
INÁ ÈÈSÌ KÌÍ JO NI L’Ẹ́Ẹ̀MEJÌ.