A Quick Rant About Trump’s Tariffs

The Emotionally Manipulative Arguments From Tariff Supporters About “Elites” Truly Miss the Mark

A little over a year ago, I was at a Brooks Brothers store purchasing a new suit for my older brother’s wedding. As the best man, I had to look the part.¹

This kind of shopping is a task that I tend to despise and the sales clerk was not making it any easier. He was extremely unhelpful and not very good at his job, stalling out the process (the other sales clerk who eventually helped me was great).

In particular, I recall the very dismissive and rude look this clerk gave me when he discovered my interest in these “Made in America” suits that Brooks Brothers was doing as a one-time special.

“Well we also have a ‘Made in America’ line if you’re interested in that,” he said.

Much to his disgust, I lit up in excitement.

That’s because everything else being equal, I buy American when I have a choice of products. It’s not just because of patriotic pride but because of my desire to help promote American manufacturing, an extremely important sector of our economy.

Notwithstanding the dismissive looks of the sales clerk, I’m glad I bought the suits made in the U.S. They were just as stylish as the ones for sale that were made in Italy and they fit far more comfortably.

I buy all sorts of foreign made products (it’s a part of modern life) but when I can buy American, I often do provided the product is sufficient. I’ll even pay a little bit more as long as I am getting a superior product. I do my small part to promote a key sector of our economy, which provides gainful employment for so many Americans.

In the wake of Trump’s tariff announcements, which are an absolutely disastrous economic policy,² I’ve seen some dismissive commentary from those in his cult who have reflexively attacked critics, who include conservative Republicans and even fellow MAGA supporters who know how bad these tariffs are, as “elites” who don’t care about American manufacturing or agriculture.

On this, I must call bullshit. I don’t consider myself an “elite”. But to the extent that I’m a registered Democrat who lives in the City of Los Angeles and does not work an industrial manufacturing or agricultural job, the fate of American manufacturing jobs and our agricultural sector very much matters to me and I have a vested interest in their success.

Let’s go through the many ways.

1. California has a significant industrial manufacturing sector. While it’s far from the largest industry in California, it still exists and those jobs matter. Off-shoring has hurt the City of Los Angeles. Re-shoring is something I want.

2. California has a massive agricultural sector. Most forget but we are the bread basket of the world. Ensuring our farmers and ranchers are successful is extremely important to this state’s success.

3. For all the whining about the “elites”, these massive tariffs will harm our industrial and agricultural sectors who won’t be able to sell as much product overseas.

4. The losses in international trade will have a deep impact on shipping, which is a huge industry in both Los Angeles and Alameda Counties. Less trade through our parts will mean fewer jobs.

5. While some cultist nutjobs on the left and the right are cheering the stock market losses as good because some wealthy Americans have lost a tremendous amount of wealth, they have conveniently forgotten that well over 60% of Americans are investors. There are farmers, ranchers, and factory workers who have retirement accounts in the stock market who have taken major hits.

6. Many who do not work in manufacturing jobs recognize that the same issues that lead to off-shoring of industrial jobs can lead to off-shoring of jobs in other critical economic sectors like the technology industry, the entertainment industry, and the pharmaceutical/biologic industry. Policies that promote American manufacturing need to promote jobs in those other areas as well.

A reality check about the so-called “elites”. California, unsurprisingly, has numerous strict consumer protection laws that are a tort litigator’s dream. Right wingers and “Abundance” types have no shortage of criticisms to offer. I’m certain that most MAGA voters would wholeheartedly agree.

But there’s one progressive legal doctrine that MAGA voters in the rust belt might appreciate if they knew about it (instead of just reflexively bashing California because FOX News, their right wing radio show, or Joe Rogan told them to).

Under California law, if you place a “Made in America” label on a product that you did not fully manufacture in the United States, your ass is grass.³ You will be sued and you will lose.⁴

Why does this matter?

Because let’s say a shopper at the Downtown LA Whole Foods on Grand Avenue or the Beverly Hills Whole Foods on Crescent Drive (which is on the ground floor of a voter-approved public housing project) is looking to buy cheddar cheese. This film editor or script doctor or dog masseuse sees a an option to buy a Canadian Cheddar or an English Cheddar or they can buy a Cheddar from Vermont.

He or she wants to buy American, support his or her fellow American dairy farmer. If that cheddar cheese is not from Vermont but is in fact from another country, they have been tricked and have spent their money supporting business of another country. Because of our laws, we ensure that this does not happen.

It’s our small part of protecting our fellow American and ultimately American manufacturing jobs and American agriculture.

And there are ways to expand American manufacturing without replicating the very same policies that led to the Great Depression. As

Noah Smith

explained in Yes, reshoring American industry is possible, “The reshoring of the solar, chip, and battery industries is a direct rebuttal to the naysayers, and proof that American manufacturing can succeed.”

Finally, I have a criticism of the Democratic Party on this issue. We have dropped the ball. For one thing, we did not take advantage of the enormous success that President Biden had in expanding American manufacturing jobs.

For another, rather than come up with new and innovative policies that will help promote manufacturing jobs and link their future to the future of jobs in other growing sectors, our leaders focus on other priorities.

Democrats can be found screaming about the injustice of Lia Thomas being denied the right to compete on the women’s team and her fundamental constitutional right to show her schlong to uninterested parties in the ladies locker room. Or holding space for everyone to talk about their truths, traumas, and triggers.

To the average voter, it looks like Democrats have simply thrown up their hands and said “there’s nothing we can do”. Democratic Party talking points that ignore this make the average voter feel that Democrats have no concern for one of their biggest issues. That has allowed a vacuum for Trump to return to the Presidency and enact truly terrible trade policy.

It does not need to be this way. But more importantly, Democrats don’t need to cede this issue while the country teeters on a severe Trump-induced recession.

For those who think there is a binary choice between encouraging American manufacturing and destroying our economy with massive tariffs, they are sorely mistaken. Democrats need to show this.

1. The author of this article is an attorney licensed to practice in the State of California and the District of Columbia. This article and all of the works on this Substack page are statements of the opinions of the author, only, and do not constitute legal advice; they are not intended to be relied upon by any individual or entity in any transaction or other legal matter, past, pending, or future. A paid subscription to this Substack page supports the author's scholarship and provides access to research that the author has compiled, but does not establish an attorney-client relationship. The author does not accept unsolicited requests for legal advice or representation, and this Substack page is not intended as legal advertising. The opinions expressed on this Substack page reflect the personal views of the author only.

2. Even to the extent that there are those who still favor protectionist policies, they understand the disastrous nature of the Smoot-Hawley Act tariffs, which Trump has decided to replicate. It reminds me of the movie In and Out where Kevin Kline’s character decides to come out as gay to his fiancé, played by Joan Cusack…….while at the wedding as they’re literally about to marry. As Cusack’s distraught character later says to Kline’s character after the ruined wedding, “Would there be…oh…ANY OTHER TIME YOU MIGHT HAVE TOLD ME THIS?”