Trump’s Tariffs Are Likely to Outlast Him: Clive Crook

Effective opposition to President Donald Trump’s trade policies has yet to pop its head above the parapet. Old-school pro-trade types are sidelined — consoling themselves, perhaps, that the protectionist turn will reverse once the costs are clearer. Be patient, we tell ourselves: This, too, shall pass.

Will it? I don’t doubt that the policies will fail. By itself, however, that won’t restore the pre-Trump era.

The reason is not, or not only, our diminishing capacity for good government. I’m also not assuming that MAGA economics will endure because Democrats will keep on losing elections. Depending on what happens in ...