Art Laffer and Stephen Moore had an op-ed a few weeks ago in which they encouraged Donald Trump to be the best version of himself on the tariff and trade issue. Trump has made inconsistent statements on tariffs and trade. Sometimes his goal seems to be to seek long-term tariffs that bring in substantial revenue. But his best version seeks a mutual reduction in tariffs to zero–a world of free trade, which when combined with deregulation and downsizing of government will allow entrepreneurs to innovate and trade so that we all flourish.
The best version of Trump is the one who spoke the following words in 2018 at a meeting of the Group of Seven in Quebec:
“No tariffs, no barriers. That’s the way it should be. And no subsidies. I even said, ‘no tariffs.’ . . . Ultimately, that’s what you want. You want tariff-free, no barriers and you want no subsidies.” (Trump as quoted in Laffer and Moore 2023, p. A17)
Source of quote:
(Note: ellipsis in original.)
(Note: the online version of the commentary has the date April 7, 2025, and has the same title as the print version.)
(Note: Stephen Moore wrote a nice blurb for my Openness book.