The Oval Office Desk and the Paradoxes of Trump’s Protectionism
In the age of vintage, it is hardly surprising to find, even in the most prestigious settings, furnishings that we had frankly hoped to forget. The Oval Office of the White House is no exception, where the presidential desk once again hosts the worn-out collection of tariff instruments that, until not long ago, we thought we had left behind. These are instruments whose usefulness is hard to discern, especially in light of the outcomes of the American protectionist offensive of 2018. Several studies conducted since then seem to reach a clear conclusion: some have found that U.S. tariffs had no positive impact on employment in the affected sectors, while retaliatory tariffs imposed by other countries had a negative impact. Others have pointed out that the greatest damage to the U.S. economy came from Washington’s own tariffs: the proverbial own goal.
