The REAL Reason the US Is Betting on Tariffs
Jan 8, 2025 · 11:10
Host Phil Andrews argues the US has been in a trade war with China since the 2000s and that tariffs—not the WTO—are America's remaining defense against dumping, forced technology transfer, and IP theft. After China joined the WTO in 2001, the US could no longer unilaterally set tariffs, and years-long WTO disputes let Chinese solar firms bankrupt the US solar industry. The Trump administration blocked WTO judges until the court fell to two members by 2019, and the Biden administration extended most Trump tariffs. The episode covers China's hacks of Westinghouse blueprints and the F-35 plans, and the 1964 chicken tax that pushed Toyota, Honda, and Nissan into US truck plants. Andrews argues tariffs don't cause inflation and that 5 million manufacturing jobs left the US between 2000 and 2010.
