Washington Examiner Senior Writer David Harsanyi expressed skepticism over the direction of President Donald Trump‘s tariffs, questioning whether they would give the United States a more fair playing field on the global market.
Trump’s tariffs were announced Wednesday, which the administration deemed “Liberation Day,” with the president attempting to frame the tariffs as “reciprocal” to match the trade barriers other countries impose on U.S. products. Harsanyi contended that even though the world is not a “utopia,” the U.S. lives “a pretty good life” on the global market. He said these tariffs should be “targeted” instead of being issued broadly.
“It should be China, maybe, or something, but this is just on everyone, and it’s not even about reciprocal trade, right?” Harsanyi said on Fox News’s The Will Cain Show. “I forgot how many countries, but dozens that have lower tariffs, you know, weighted tariff rates than we do. Israel removed all their tariffs, and we’re still going to tariff on them.”
Harsanyi clarified that he does not believe the U.S. will “collapse” under these new tariffs, but they will put the country through “unnecessary pain.”
He also pointed out that many countries with low tariffs are all “rich countries” compared to other countries with higher tariffs, including China and India, which are “far poorer than us.” As such, Harsanyi expressed confusion as to why the U.S. would follow the economic policies of poorer countries, saying this “makes no sense to me.”
Meanwhile, Marlin Steel CEO Drew Greenblatt was more supportive of Trump’s tariffs, arguing how his company is charged when it exports metal baskets to England. Comparatively, metal baskets imported to the U.S. are charged far less, which represents the “wildly unfair playing field.”
DOES TRUMP HAVE A PLAN B IF HIS TARIFFS PLUNGE US INTO RECESSION?
In the wake of Trump’s newly announced tariffs, leaders of the European Union, which was hit with 20% tariffs, expressed a willingness to negotiate with the U.S. Meanwhile, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said he was looking “forward to working closely with the U.S. to ensure a fair, mutually beneficial approach” after his country was hit with a 32% tariff, which does not extend to semiconductor imports into the U.S.
My advice to foreign leaders is that if you have not already reached out to President @realDonaldTrump, you need to do so immediately. Trump is, at his core, a dealmaker who sees the world as a series of transactions.
Based on his track record to date with foreign…
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) April 3, 2025
On X, Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman advised foreign leaders to reach out to Trump “immediately. He predicted the president would “reward the early dealmakers with fairer deals” compared to those who wait.
