Opinion

The terrible lesson Biden learned from Trump on trade

Tariffs are kind of funny. Politicians sometimes acknowledge that they raise prices and kill jobs. But they seem to realize this only when the other team proposes them.

On Wednesday, President Biden called for tripling the tariffs on steel and aluminum from China, an announcement he coincidentally made while visiting the United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh. This isn’t pandering ahead of an election, the White House insists; it’s about protecting U.S. manufacturing from “unfair trade practices” overseas.