Trump’s trade war backfired . Here's what comes next

When Donald Trump slapped tariffs on $300 billion worth of Chinese goods, he promised a renaissance for American manufacturing—a return to the golden age of factory floors humming with well-paid union jobs.

Instead, what followed was a slow-motion economic car crash: higher prices for consumers, retaliatory trade barriers, and a manufacturing sector that, far from roaring back, continued its decades-long decline.

Now, as the dust settles on a failed experiment in economic nationalism, progressive Democrat Lisa McCormick is offering a roadmap out of the mess.

The problem, McCormick argues, isn’t just Trump’s tariffs—it’s the entire corporate-driven trade framework that has governed globalization since NAFTA.

For decades, U.S. trade policy has been crafted by and for multinational corporations, prioritizing cheap imports and shareholder profits over the livelihoods of American workers.

The result? Stagnant wages for non-college-educated workers, hollowed-out industrial towns, and supply chains so fragile that a single pandemic or geopolitical shock can send prices spiraling.

Trump’s response—a blunderbuss approach of sky-high tariffs—wasn’t just ineffective; it made things worse.

Trump’s tariffs were sold as a silver bullet, but they were more like a self-inflicted wound.

Economists Josh Bivens and Adam S. Hersh of the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) point out that tariffs, while politically satisfying, do little to address the root causes of wage stagnation or manufacturing decline.

Worse, they often backfire—raising costs for U.S. businesses that rely on imported materials and inviting retaliatory measures that hurt American exporters.

The much-hyped "reshoring" of jobs never materialized. Instead, companies simply passed the costs onto consumers or found loopholes to bypass the tariffs altogether.

"Globalization was never inherently the problem. The problem was who wrote its rules," said McCormick. "From NAFTA to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, trade agreements were crafted not by workers or economists, but by corporate lobbyists who ensured every clause prioritized profits over people."

"The results were predictable: a race to the bottom in wages, a hemorrhage of manufacturing jobs, and supply chains so brittle that a single pandemic could send shockwaves through the entire system," said McCormick.

McCormick’s Progressive Alternative

McCormick’s vision for trade policy isn’t about retreating from globalization—it’s about rewriting the rules to work for workers, not just CEOs. Her agenda includes:

• Domestic Wage Boosts: Aggressive full-employment policies, a $20+ federal minimum wage, and stronger union protections to counteract the downward pressure of global competition.
• Smart Industrial Policy: Strategic investments in critical sectors (like semiconductors and clean energy) to reduce reliance on fragile supply chains.
• Labor & Climate Protections: Trade deals that reward countries for strong labor rights and environmental standards—not just cheap labor and lax regulations.
• Tax Fairness: Closing loopholes that let corporations dodge taxes by offshoring profits and production.

The lesson of the Trump tariffs is clear: economic nationalism alone won’t revive American manufacturing. What’s needed is a new social contract—one that ensures globalization benefits workers, not just shareholders.

As Lisa McCormick puts it, "Trade policy shouldn’t be about dominance displays or xenophobia. It should be about building an economy where prosperity is shared, not hoarded."

The question now is whether Washington will listen—or double down on the same failed policies that got us here.