Ben Shapiro of Daily Wire has big concerns about the tariffs.
For one thing, Shapiro said on his show that he thinks "this giant tariff policy" that Trump dropped on the market unilaterally is "probably" unconstitutional. Shapiro also warns this will harm the very American consumers that Trump says tariffs will help.
"Trump's reciprocal tariffs impose hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes on Americans and will be the largest tax increase since the Revenue Act of 1968, one of the biggest tax increases on American consumers in the history of America," said Shapiro. "It's going to cost American consumers. It'll cost American producers who use inputs from other countries."
The Revenue Act of 1968 created a temporary 10% income tax for both individuals and corporations through the end of June 1969 to help pay for the Vietnam War.
The act also delayed a scheduled reduction in the telephone and automobile excise tax, causing them to end in 1973 instead of 1969.
The stock market has not responded well to the tariffs. Thursday's closing was brutal, and Friday was not much better.
"There are real world implications for this sort of stuff," Shapiro continued. "Trade wars are in fact not good and not easy to win, particularly if you do not actually have a plan. It is predicated on a bad idea of how international trade works, a fundamental misunderstanding of trade deficits."
Trump says the U.S. has been harmed by trade deficits and the tariffs are meant to make things better for the nation, its workers, and consumers. Still, Shapiro called trade deficits "an accounting procedure," adding they pretty much have nothing to do with the health of the economy.
"I can name you a period in American history where there was a fairly large surplus in America's balance of trade: The Great Depression," said Shapiro.
The Trump administration has also been criticized by individuals and so-called fact checking websites for having a "misleading" tariff chart. However, the White House stands by its actions. Trump believes the tariffs will work and those in support of tariffs are urging patience.
