Outrage of the Week: Trade War On and Off Again
- Bryan Dumont
- Mar 15
- 6 min read
WASHINGTON —President Trump's volatile trade policy ignited fresh uncertainty this week as the administration imposed—and then abruptly reversed—steep tariffs targeting key U.S. allies and trading partners, including Canada, Mexico, and the European Union.
The sudden tariff hikes on steel, aluminum, and manufactured goods initially rattled markets, prompting immediate threats of retaliatory measures. Trump quickly backed down, suspending several of the announced tariffs just days after their rollout.
The back-and-forth moves left businesses scrambling and deepened worries among international allies over the unpredictability of American economic policy. Economists warned that the ongoing tariff confusion risks undermining both domestic growth and America's global standing.
“This is what authoritarians do — manipulate public policy and control it with personal decisions and seemingly idiosyncratic decisions, often to get or push for political support in return,” — Rick McGahey, an economist at the New School.
“If they want to try to annihilate Ontario, I will do anything — including cutting off their energy — with a smile on my face,” — Doug Ford, Premier of Ontario
“Perhaps he wants to sink the Canadian economy so that he can annex Canada...That’s never going to happen. We will never be the 51st state.” --Justin Trudeau, (former) Prime Minister, Canada
The Question for the Panel:
Congress has by force of statute allocated sigificant authority in order to negotiate complex, multilateral global trade deals. For most of this time, presidents have used this auhority to reduce trade barriers. President Trump believes we need tariffs to protect American industry and workers.
Do President Trump's tariff policies tariffs comport with the republican spirit and the authority vested in the Consitution?
What would our Fathers say?
THE PANEL
Panel of the Founding Fathers of the United States
Alexander Hamilton
"Trade, when left to itself, will ever find its own natural channels; and interference with it by regulations and restrictions will be certain to produce serious evils." –Report on Manufactures, 1791
"The spirit of commerce, like the spirit of liberty itself, thrives when left to the genius and enterprise of individuals, unshackled by arbitrary interventions of the state. Liberty, not equality of outcomes, is the lifeblood of American prosperity. Markets must be free to reward the industrious and punish inefficiency; it is through open competition that nations rise in prosperity, not through tariffs or restrictive measures designed to artificially level the playing field. True equality lies in equal opportunity to participate, not in forced equality of results, dictated by government fiat. Tariffs may momentarily soothe domestic anxieties, but in the end, they degrade the competitive vigor and individual liberty upon which our republic was founded."
(Pausing for effect, raising an eyebrow with characteristic disdain.)
"Yet, mark me well: the error here lies not in executive authority—an energetic executive is vital—but in ignorance masquerading as policy. To use executive strength to impede trade is a fool’s errand. A republic seeking prosperity and liberty cannot manipulate its markets into artificial equality without destroying both prosperity and freedom. Liberty demands confidence in our strength to compete freely, courageously, and openly—not cowering behind walls built by economic folly."
Translation: Free markets represent liberty itself; tariffs distort this liberty in a misguided pursuit of economic equality. The executive authority is sound—but Trump’s economic reasoning is dangerously flawed.
George Washington
"Harmony, liberal intercourse with all nations, are recommended by policy, humanity and interest." – Farewell Address, 1796
"The establishment of trade and commerce is undoubtedly a paramount object of governance, crucial both to national prosperity and to our political independence. While it is clear that our Constitution entrusts Congress with the power to regulate commerce, it must be conceded that in matters of immediate necessity, executive discretion is sometimes the only means by which a nation can timely address imminent economic threats without cumbersome delay. Yet, such power must ever be exercised with great circumspection and humility, lest the executive transform from servant of the republic to something more perilous. Indeed, unilateral decisions in trade can swiftly yield consequences not only economic but diplomatic—alienating those nations whose goodwill we have carefully cultivated. If properly executed, such executive prerogative might serve as an effective instrument to defend our commerce without undue entanglement abroad. However, it must never become an unchecked right, divorced from legislative oversight. For once power is concentrated, liberty soon departs."
Translation: Trade is vital, and presidents might sometimes need the flexibility to protect national interests—but beware the slippery slope from efficiency to tyranny.
John Adams
"Power always thinks it has a great soul and vast views beyond the comprehension of the weak; and that it is doing God’s service when violating all his laws." – Letter to Jefferson, 1816
"The vigor of the executive office was never in question among the framers of our Constitution—it was wisely established precisely to protect against foreign insult, to secure national prosperity, and to execute the public will with dispatch and energy. Tariffs imposed in the national interest may indeed fall within this just prerogative, as the legislature's deliberations can, at times, lag dangerously behind the swift currents of international affairs."
(He pauses with visible irritation)
"Yet, to entrust such extraordinary powers to the hands of a man devoid of virtue, honor, or the slightest tincture of republican character is another matter altogether. The office itself, while powerful, was never intended as a refuge for vanity, avarice, or impulsivity. Executive strength without virtue is mere tyranny by another name. This disgraceful spectacle—tariffs wielded not as measured tools of policy, but as crude bludgeons to flatter one man's ego—stains the presidency and corrodes the very heart of republican government."
Translation: The president’s authority in trade policy is real, perhaps even necessary, but giving that power to someone like Trump? Absolutely shameful.
James Madison
"The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary in the same hands...may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny." —Federalist No. 47
"The authority to regulate commerce among nations is constitutionally vested solely in the legislature, and deliberately so. The process by which decisions are made in a republic is as important as the policies themselves—indeed, the wisdom of our constitutional structure lies in its insistence on deliberation, checks, and counterbalance rather than swift decree. Executive action, absent legislative sanction, undermines the careful framework upon which the republic was built, eroding the essential safeguards against arbitrary power. Tariffs imposed by a president alone, even with noble intent or desirable ends, inevitably weaken the institutional pillars of our republic. Such precedents set by expedience, rather than deliberation, have a way of accumulating unseen costs until, one day, the very fabric of liberty itself is compromised."
Translation: Even if the policy is correct, the president acting alone undermines the Constitution—and that process matters more than outcome.
Thomas Jefferson
"Dependence begets subservience and venality, suffocates the germ of virtue, and prepares fit tools for the designs of ambition." — Notes on the State of Virginia, 1785
"Commerce between nations, founded on equal footing and mutual respect, can rightly nourish independence, safeguard liberty, and fortify the virtue of our republic. To rely too heavily upon foreign powers is to risk reducing our sovereignty to a fragile reed, bending at the whims of distant monarchs. In principle, then, tariffs and other protective measures may shield and nurture the republic as surely as laws secure the rights of man."
(He He pauses thoughtfully, brow furrowed slightly.)
"Yet, the executive, powerful though it must be, was never designed to reign supreme over the people's representatives. Congress, the true guardian of the people's liberty, alone must wield the delicate instruments of commerce. A republic governed by executive whim, unmoored from legislative deliberation, quickly descends into the very tyranny we fought to overthrow. Thus, while I applaud policies that strengthen our independence, I caution most strenuously against entrusting such authority to any single man—particularly one whose judgment in matters of prudence leaves much to be desired."
Translation: Economic independence is essential—but unilateral presidential tariffs betray republican ideals.
Analysis: The American Ideology in Action
The panel discussion reveals how Trump’s volatile tariff policies vividly illuminate the fundamental tensions within the American Ideology itself. At its core, Trump's unilateral tariff decisions expose the delicate structural balance between an energetic executive capable of decisive action and a legislature committed to deliberation and republican accountability.
Hamilton and Adams affirm the necessity of executive power but warn sharply of its potential for abuse when placed in reckless or unvirtuous hands. Madison and Jefferson, conversely, emphasize the central importance of legislative deliberation, viewing Trump’s actions as constitutionally dangerous precisely because they short-circuit this careful process.
Trump’s tariff policies also cast new light on the philosophical dimension—specifically the liberty-equality tension. Hamilton, embracing free markets, sees tariffs as an assault on economic liberty; Jefferson, skeptical of dependence, cautiously supports tariffs, but only when enacted legislatively to safeguard republican virtue and national independence. Trump's erratic protectionism, by contrast, lacks the ideological coherence of either approach, illustrating how abandoning these foundational principles quickly leads to policy incoherence and strategic confusion.
Thus, examining Trump's actions through the ideological lens reveals more than just the dangers of executive overreach: it underscores the broader risk to republican governance when policy is unmoored from coherent ideological principles. Conversely, Trump's behavior also serves as a critical test of the resilience of the American Ideology itself—highlighting both the safeguards built into our constitutional system and the importance of fidelity to these enduring tensional ideas.
THE POLL: WHICH FATHER KNOWS BEST?
Which Father do you think has the right response to the “outrage of the day”?
Hamilton - Tariffs unwise, executive action legitimate
Washington - Caution on policy and exercise of authority
Adams - Tariffs acceptable, no authority without virtue
Madison - Policy irrelevant, clearly unconstitutional
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