Trump's Tariffs: A Royal Decree That Punishes Workers and Enriches Cronies

The Trump administration’s tariff strategy reads less like a coherent economic plan and more like a royal decree handed down from a monarch’s whim. As National Review’s piece on “The Monarchical Logic of Trump’s Tariffs” reveals, these tariffs are not about protecting American industry in any consistent or fair way. Instead, they are a patchwork of favors and punishments, granted or rescinded based on who can lobby the White House most effectively.

Take the Scotch whisky industry, which successfully lobbied to end the 10 percent tariff imposed as retaliation for European Union levies on American bourbon. This selective lifting of tariffs isn’t about free trade or leveling the playing field. It’s about rewarding industries that can navigate the corridors of power and punishing others that cannot.

The consequences of this approach are clear and dire. Tariffs have sparked trade wars that disrupt global supply chains, raise prices for everyday Americans, and invite retaliatory measures from allies and trading partners. Meanwhile, corporate cronies and politically connected firms reap benefits while workers and consumers bear the costs.

This “monarchical” approach to trade policy is a stark example of the Trump administration’s broader pattern: governing by personal loyalty and transactional politics rather than principle or public interest. It exposes the hollow claim that these tariffs are about “America First.” Instead, they serve “Trump First” — an authoritarian style that undermines democratic accountability and economic stability alike.

As this tariff saga unfolds, the fallout will not just be economic but political. Americans demanding transparency and fairness must recognize that these trade policies are part of a larger assault on democratic norms and institutions. The only way to hold this administration accountable is to call out its abuses in full and push back against the corrosive influence of crony capitalism disguised as patriotism.