The cost of coming home: are tariffs and trade deficits really so bad?

The notion of a trade deficit signalling economic weakness is misleading. Meanwhile, domestic production prompted by tariffs simply costs more.

Part of the logic behind U.S. President Donald Trump’s push for tariffs is a desire to bring production back home, but the consequences could hit local economies hard, writes Luis Napoles Medina.White House photograph by Gabriel Kotico

Opinion

BY LUIS NAPOLES MEDINA

June 11, 2025

Factories are on their way home. Under a revamped trade policy, the United States will no longer tolerate being ripped off by its trading partners. What started off with tariffs on Canada and Mexico has since escalated into sweeping “reciprocal” global tariffs aimed at b...

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