“It’s a myth that’s put out there by foreign countries that really don’t like paying tariffs.”
His delusion is a danger to America.
The statement betrays either a fundamental ignorance of basic economic principles or a deliberate attempt to mislead. Tariffs are not some magical fee extracted from foreign governments or companies out of patriotic bravado. They are taxes on imported goods, and like any tax on goods, the cost is passed down the supply chain until it reaches the final consumer. The idea that foreign governments “pay” these tariffs is as economically illiterate as claiming that corporations pay taxes without passing costs to employees, investors, or customers.
When a tariff is imposed, importers must pay the government a percentage of the item’s value at the border. They do not absorb these costs out of generosity. Instead, they increase prices, shift sourcing, or cut costs elsewhere—typically through layoffs, lower wages, or reduced investments. Every serious economic analysis, from left-leaning think tanks to conservative market economists, acknowledges this. Even the U.S. government’s own economic reports confirm that tariffs raise domestic prices.
Blaming foreign countries for “not liking” tariffs is pure deflection. Of course, exporters dislike tariffs; they make goods less competitive. But the real burden falls on domestic businesses and consumers. The entire point of tariffs is to make imports more expensive, artificially boosting domestic production. The result is that Americans pay more for everyday goods, supply chains become less efficient, and trade wars escalate.
There is no grand foreign conspiracy at play here—only a refusal to engage with economic reality. Trump is economically illiterate, and he is lying to Americans.
