Tom Justice

Lock Haven

In DeRugy’s Oct. 18 editorial, “The mounting costs of Trump’s protectionism,” the French born and educated author referred to a KPMG survey which claimed that American tariffs cause decreases in American exports, increases in costs and greater unemployment. In other words, American tariffs are bad … but she said nothing about European tariffs. Why?

The source she quoted is a London-based multinational corporation with subsidiaries spanning the globe — from Switzerland to Russia to Saudi Arabia. KPMG has a long track record of “cooking the books,” most recently “breaches and negligence linked to a corruption scandal” in Malaysia to the tune of $5.6 billion in damages. It has a clear Euro-centrist bias with thinly concealed political motives. We need more objectivity.

That being said, let’s take a look at just a couple of tariffs. Wine: In 2017 the U.S. imported $4.5 billion in European wine but exported only $553 million in return, resulting in a net wine deficit of $4 billion. This was a result of European tariffs, which were more than double the American rate. (See France 24, “Fact check: Does France put steep tariffs on U.S. wine?” Dec. 11, 2018) That’s not fair.

Automobiles: French tariffs on Ford pickups drove the cost of an F-150 from $37,000 to an incredible $100,106! (Forbes, “French Tariffs Would Send U.S. Pickup Prices Beyond $100,000″ Oct. 4, 2023.) That’s not fair either. Under the Biden administration the U.S. trade deficit in automobiles soared to $37.1 billion in 2024, and the overall trade deficit for Europe (the E.U.) rose to $235.9 billion in 2024, a 13.6% increase over 2023.

This wasn’t limited to Europe. The overall goods and services deficit for 2024 was a whopping $918.4 billion, nearly a trillion dollars. FOR ONE YEAR! And this deficit was $133.5 billion higher than 2023. (U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis,” U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, December and Annual 2024,” Feb. 5, 2025.) Clearly, deficits were spiraling out of control, and the Biden administration did nothing to stop them. America had been put on a path to insolvency.

When the new Trump administration acted to correct this trade imbalance, the European response was predictable. “US-EU trade deal is a ‘dark day’ for Europe, says French PM.” (The Guardian, July 28, 2025) Yet, clearly, a drastic change in American tariff policy was long overdue.

In 2024 U.S. businesses were moving overseas, and foreign businesses were investing in Mexico, not America. (Forbes, “The Rise of Automobile Manufacture in Mexico,” Aug. 29, 2024. “China’s Auto Sector is Moving to Mexico,” July 11, 2024) In 2024 Mexico became the world’s seventh largest manufacturer of cars with over one million autoworkers who were paid just $2.70 per hour. Why? The North American Free Trade Agreement.

Struggling against Asian and European car makers, out-tariffed U.S. companies began moving to Mexico. But the election of 2024 changed everything. America decided to fight back. The new administration ditched NAFTA and began to negotiate trade deals and to impose tariffs, correcting trade imbalances. New tariffs not only brought in billions of income, they incentivized investment in America. The Brookings Institute headlines, “Higher U.S. tariffs create an incentive for car manufacturers to avoid the tariff by manufacturing more in the U.S.” (Brookings, May 13, 2025) And the UAW called the Trump tariffs a “victory for autoworkers.” (United Auto Workers, “In a Victory for Autoworkers, Auto Tariffs Mark the Beginning of the End of NAFTA and the ‘Free Trade’ Disaster.”)

While Europeans complained (France 24, “Trump drives trade war fears with new auto tariffs,” Mar. 27, 2025), America’s auto industry was revitalized. Investments started rolling in: “Hyundai’s new Georgia plant to hire 8,500 people,” Mar. 26, 2025. ) (Here, let me interject: In 1987 Hyundai had built car factories in Korea with dirt floors. Autoworkers were paid $1.50 to $2 an hour and worked 55-60 hours per week. They could easily undercut American automakers.) “GM to invest $4 billion in its U.S. manufacturing plants,” June 10, 2025. “Ford invests $5 billion on EV plant expansion in the U.S.” Aug. 11, 2025. “Stellantis unveils massive $13 billion U.S. investment plan,” Oct. 15, 2025. Et cetera.

America is back. This brief look at the automobile industry proves it, but there is much more. There are certainly price increases in many sectors of the economy. Beef, for example, is up 17%. How do we handle that? We could buy cheap beef from foreign lands, such as Argentina, but that would only bankrupt our ranchers. Where would they go? Instead, we need to look at the cost of doing business for ranchers. Bring that down. It will take time, and the current administration has only been in office for nine months.

But already tariffs have done more than bring new investment into the U.S. Tariffs have also been used as a diplomatic tool to end wars and bring peace throughout the globe. Used properly, American tariffs can make our world a better place.