Something surprising and significant is happening among the Democratic Party’s rank-and-file progressives. After decades of drifting toward protectionism, President Donald Trump’s taste for tariffs is doing more than prompting mainstream Democrats (a group that tends to support free trade) to see the merits of low tariffs. Even many independent socialists — a group that has often been vocally skeptical of “free trade” policies — are similarly denouncing high tariffs.
Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats and often speaks for the party’s left wing, declared that Trump’s proposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico are “most likely illegal and most definitely harmful” to ordinary families. The independent socialist Jacobin Magazine bluntly predicted tariffs would lower ordinary Americans’ standard of living. Even though some powerful unions are lining up to back tariffs when they can aid their specific industry, a pair of aviation unions, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and the National Business Aviation Association, are pointing out that these tariffs will hurt their workers at the office and in their pocketbooks.
The concerns about Trump’s tariffs are not mere predictions. Now that Trump is actually implementing some of his steep tariffs (albeit erratically), key trading partners like China, Canada and Mexico are either retaliating or threatening to retaliate with punitive tariffs against us; products from agricultural goods to aluminum and steel will be impacted. American business leaders report feeling “frozen” and suffering significant setbacks because of price increases and the overall climate of uncertainty. North of the border, Canadians are protesting American tariffs by venting their ire in both traditional and creative ways, from assembling before the US consulate in Vancouver to renaming Americanos as “Canadianos.”
At a time when Democratic and non-Democratic liberal leaders are regularly blasted for lacking courage, speaking up for pro-trade policies at a time when Trump wants tariffs to be chic is not just brave; it puts the party on the same policy trajectory as millions of North Americans. More important, though, it is consistent with an idealistic, politically successful, and deep Democratic party tradition of supporting trade, and doing so in a way that resonates with the voters Democrats need to win elections.
Indeed, if Trump’s pro-tariff trend continues, history suggests only good things for the Democratic Party. As Trump attempts to revive isolationism, Democrats are returning to their internationalist, export-enthusiastic, anti-tariff roots. Throughout the 20th century, Democrats stimulated prosperity and won elections (and liberal hearts) by advocating lower tariffs, export-based growth, and economic integration coupled with social safety nets. Though the party has sometimes wobbled in its commitment in recent decades, its history repeatedly shows that this approach is often the path to both political success and substantial policy achievement.
