Rand Paul: ‘Fallacy’ to think tariffs will help country

The Hill ^ | 4/2/25 | Tara Suter

[DallasBiff]

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that it is a “fallacy” to think tariffs will help the country’s economy as President Trump gears up to impose massive reciprocal tariffs on U.S. trading partners.

Paul, who has spoken out against tariffs previously, joined The Hill’s “Rising” on Wednesday, where he discussed his disagreement with tariffs, calling them “a tax.”

“On tariffs, I think it’s just economically — it’s a fallacy to think that it’ll help the country,” the Kentucky senator said. “Tariffs are a tax, and if you tax trade or if you tax anything, you’ll get less of it.”

[DallasBiff]

Rand sometimes being committed to an ideology can bring great harm, look at Lenin, Stalin, and Mao.

[for-q-clinton]

He’s an idiot on this topic. It will make it FAIR trade. Other countries can remove tariffs and we will do the same...and that will help the country as well.

Also eliminating the income tax will help the country.

[Zathras]

Rand is quickly loosing the small amount of support he has had in the Senate.

[ballplayer]

Well do the Tariffs help the countries who put them on us?
If so then why are they doing it?

[SaveFerris]

Yeppers 👍👍👍

[Kazan]

Paul is exposing himself as someone bought and paid for by the Chamber of Commerce.

This could be his jump the shark moment.

Anyone siding with McConnell, Murkowski and Collins is a disgrace.

[imabadboy99]

If only Rand had fought this hard against o’butthole and bye-dumb

[Fireone]

They’re already helping the country, the number of countries dropping their tariffs against us is growing as we speak.
Rand should sit back & be quiet for a day or two.

[1Old Pro]

Anyone siding with McConnell, Murkowski and Collins is a disgrace.

Paul is losing any credibility he may have.

[TheThirdRuffian]

I would agree with him if our trading partners were not cheating, but they are.

And China sells at a loss (aka “dumps”) and uses slave labor because its goal is not profit, but the destruction of the USA’s manufacturing infrastructure. It’s effectively bombing our factories in slow motion.

[volare737]

So the status quo—where foreign countries are taxing (to use his words) us—is ok with him?

Why doesn’t he address that?

[FlipWilson]

Well do the Tariffs help the countries who put them on us? If so then why are they doing it?

This

[Alberta's Child]

I'm generally a supporter of tariffs on principle, but I think it’s safe to say that nobody inside or outside the Trump administration has a clue what the impacts of these tariffs are going to be.

The evidence for this is that within the same conversation on the subject you will have supporters of these tariffs stating that: (1) the tariffs will bring a flood of manufacturing activity back to the U.S., and (2) the tariffs will raise hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue.

The odds of BOTH things happening are non-existent, folks.

[bray]

But taxing American corporations doesn’t raise prices, right Rand?

[FlingWingFlyer]

Sounds like Rand wants America to go back to being the ATM and slush fund to the world and politicians. The giant Sugar Daddy sucker for freeloaders. Geez. Every new SUV or Pickup I see these days has “Disabled” license plates attached to them. Half the spaces in the parking lots are for “the disabled”. The number of Wallymobiles inside Walmarts make it look like the Fatty 500. They wouldn’t need those Wallymobiles if they’d get off their keisters and walk while shopping.

[pepsi_junkie]

oldie but some comments from Ron Paul (yes, NOT Rand Paul) a decade ago on tariffs: “If we can’t compete then we have to say, ‘Why can’t we compete?’” he said.

Perhaps because we have worker safety standards and aren't allowed to use slave labor, things China doesn't have to worry about, and doesn't. And oh yeah, because other nations put heap big tariffs on our goods to make them unreasonably expensive over there.

But trying to fix decades of “mismanaged” trade with tariffs is the wrong approach, Paul argued on “Squawk on the Street.”

Okay, so I guess we just live with the disparity because the causes I noted above aren't "fixable", as if banning safety and enslaving people is a fix (but hey, it works for China)

“A tariff can’t fix this. A tariff is a tax and the tax is on the people who live in the country who raises it,” he said. “People that might be enjoying $25 tennis shoes will have to pay $100. That doesn’t help anybody.”

That's a bummer. That means people might not be able to afford shoddy chinese made sneakers anymore and that might result in a lot of child slaves over there being laid off, how tragic.

I liked Ron Paul but his logic on tariffs sounds a lot like democrats (and everyone named Bush) who say we need uncontrolled illegal immigration because 'who's going to maintain our lawns and pick our cotton ... er crops?'

[algore]

I kind of agree with Rand, but we should not have to pay tariffs either

pretty sure this is a short lived thing until the other countries reduce their tariffs on us

[jeffersondem]

“Tariffs are a tax, and if you tax trade or if you tax anything, you’ll get less of it.”

That is a good line but it does not address complex, international trade policies.

If it did the U.S. would not have huge trade imbalances, a decimated industrial base, and a 36.5 trillion dollar deficient. These are all bad things.

[AnotherUnixGeek]

Rand Paul: ‘Fallacy’ to think tariffs will help country

I understand and respect Paul's thinking, but we've tried "free" trade and globalization for the last 3 decades, and the result has been a hollowed-out middle class in this country. Trump has a valid point. We can have truly free trade when unequal tariffs are eliminated - and if they aren't, we will by necessity force manufacturers to build their products in America, employing Americans. We can't be a nation of consumers who make nothing. Let's try this.

[Fuzz]

‘ He’s an idiot on this topic. It will make it FAIR trade. Other countries can remove tariffs and we will do the same...and that will help the country as well.

Also eliminating the income tax will help the country.’

If the tariffs are removed, then no additional revenue.

If that revenue isn’t available, how can we can we eliminate Income taxes?