Tariff Opposition Isn’t Academic Expertise—It’s Coordinated Political Opposition
The Coalition for a Prosperous America (CPA) strongly supports the Trump administration’s expected announcement today imposing 25% universal tariffs on Mexico and Canada and 10% universal tariffs on China—a long-overdue step to rebalance trade, strengthen U.S. manufacturing, and restore American economic independence.
“For decades, so-called ‘free trade’ policies have hollowed out America’s industrial base, destroyed domestic supply chains, and left American workers at the mercy of foreign governments and multinational corporations,” said Zach Mottl, Chairman of CPA. “President Trump’s decision to impose universal tariffs is a bold and necessary step toward reversing decades of failed trade policies and rebuilding America’s manufacturing and agricultural industries.”
Debunking the False ‘Tariffs Cause Inflation’ Narrative
Opponents of tariffs continue to push deeply-flawed economic predictions, falsely claiming that tariffs fuel inflation and hurt American consumers. From the adoption of NAFTA in 1994, through the Trump administration’s 2018 tariffs, economic forecasts have consistently failed to predict the impacts of free trade agreements and other trade actions like tariffs. In fact, researchers at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve found that the most widely used trade model has “essentially zero predictive accuracy.”
But real-world economic data paints a different picture:
CPI did not increase as a result of the initial Trump tariffs in 2018.
Economists at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found no noticeable retail price increases from recent U.S. tariffs.
Last year, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that tariffs would not lead to “any meaningful increase” in consumer prices.
A recent report from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on universal tariffs found minimal effects on prices and GDP.
“These fearmongering arguments come from the same economists funded by multinational corporations who have been dead wrong on trade policy for decades,” said Mottl. “They’re the same ‘experts’ who told us that NAFTA would create nearly 200,000 jobs, but instead, it wiped out one million American jobs. They said Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) with China would be a win for the U.S., but their predictions were off by a factor of seven—and it led to the biggest industrial collapse in modern history.”
An analysis from the U.S. International Trade Commission showed that tariffs boosted domestic production in every single industry where they were implemented. Additionally, the report shows that consumer goods did not have any significant price increases.
Mexico’s Blatant Trade Violations Must Be Addressed
Mexico, in particular, has become a major threat to American industry and national security. After securing tariff-free access in 2019, Mexico has blatantly violated its commitments, resulting in surging steel and aluminum imports that have devastated key U.S. industries. Last week, CPA formally called on President Trump to take immediate action to address Mexico’s ongoing violations of its commitments under the 2019 Joint Steel and Aluminum Agreement.
Steel imports from Mexico surged 472% above agreed-upon levels in 2023, with 2024 data indicating an even steeper rise to roughly 700%.
Mexico now accounts for over 87% of U.S. steel conduit imports, undercutting American producers and forcing plant closures.
Mexico has openly courted Chinese investment, advertising itself as a “duty-free” gateway for Chinese goods to enter the U.S. market.
“Mexico is no different than China when it comes to exploiting trade agreements and undercutting American industry,” continued Mottl. “They’ve actively courted Chinese companies to set up shop and use Mexico as a staging ground to dodge U.S. tariffs and flood our market with cheap imports. This is economic warfare, and it has to stop.”
Universal Tariffs: A Powerful Tool for Reindustrialization
CPA strongly supports universal tariffs as powerful tools to broadly reindustrialize the U.S. economy. Unlike narrow, case-by-case tariffs, universal tariffs prevent China and other trade-cheating nations from exploiting loopholes, shifting production, and circumventing targeted restrictions through country-hopping and transshipment. Last year, CPA released an economic analysis showing that a global 10% tariff on all U.S. imports would generate U.S. economic growth, increase real wages, increase employment, and raise additional revenue to lower taxes for lower- and middle-class Americans.
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