By Otis Grotewohl
January 31, 2025

Before returning to the White House for a second term, President Donald Trump warned he planned on imposing tariffs on several different countries. He stated he would enforce an “emergency executive authority” on day one to enforce tariffs of 25% on products from Canada and Mexico and a tariff of 10% on goods from China.

A tariff is a tax on imported goods and products. Historically, tariffs have been a “protectionist” practice used by bourgeois governments to promote domestic manufacturing. On Jan. 26, Trump showed another face of his program regarding tariffs when he used the threat of a 25% tariff to bully Colombia into accepting migrants the U.S. was deporting; this facet will be covered in future articles.

Tariffs were common at a time when there were more industrial jobs in the U.S. and capitalist countries were in competition with one another. In centuries past, tariffs have led to military conflicts between imperialist rivals.

Trump is now trying to reinforce tariffs as part of his second administration’s chauvinist “America First” agenda, and he is spreading misinformation in the process.

One of the most deceptive arguments Trump makes in defending the use of tariffs is that they will “help workers” who reside in the U.S. Throughout history, taxes on imported products have mostly benefited capitalist investors of selected home-based corporations.

Money collected from tariffs does not go towards creating new jobs or job training programs. Additionally, corporate shareholders who do collect remaining profits from tariffs are likely to receive massive tax breaks.

Bosses of several companies have openly admitted that tariffs will likely cause “inflationary” price hikes for consumers. “The vast majority of that tariff will probably be passed on to the consumer as a price increase,” said Best Buy CEO Corie Barry. (Fortune, Nov. 27, 2024) Walmart finance chief officer John David Rainey made a similar comment when he told FOX News reporters, “Tariffs are going to be inflationary, there’s no disputing that.” (Fortune, Nov. 27, 2024)

U.S. tariffs on imported parts 

Many workers use imported goods as inputs when building products domestically. For example, research from the Center for Automotive Research shows that roughly “16 percent of all auto parts used by U.S. assembly plants come from Mexico,” and much of the steel used in U.S. production comes from Canada. (americanprogress.org, Dec. 18, 2024)

Those parts will face tariffs, and thus the cost a U.S. car producer pays for them will increase. When the parts are used in production of U.S.-made cars, this will raise the cost of the car. The higher price will increase the sales price and will often decrease sales and corporate profits, causing furloughs and massive layoffs of workers.

Whether they are imposed on consumer imports or on materials used in production, any increased costs resulting from tariffs will place a burden on workers and not the capitalist employers who seek financial gain.

Trump’s attack on BRICS

Trump is also using talk about tariffs as an opportunity to attack countries affiliated with BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa founded BRICS). BRICS is an intergovernmental organization, now with 10 members and eight other partners, that represents countries mostly from the Global South. BRICS also symbolizes an alternative to NATO and European Union- aligned G7 countries that embody Western imperialism.

While already threatening People’s China with a 10% tariff, Trump affirmed he plans on placing a 100% tariff on “all BRICS countries.” China is a leading member of BRICS. This idea came up when Trump erroneously called Spain a BRICS country — although it is not.

When a journalist asked what would happen to NATO countries, such as Spain, that do not meet the 2% spending target, Trump responded with confusion. He replied: “They’re a BRICS nation, Spain. Do you know what a BRICS nation is? You’ll figure it out,  We are going to put at least a 100% tariff on the business they do with the United States.” (Newsweek, Jan. 21)

Attacks against BRICS are detrimental to workers in G7 countries, particularly in the U.S. As the Center for American Progress highlights: “The BRICS countries supply countless parts, materials and inputs that fuel production of goods in the United States — goods that are both consumed domestically and exported abroad. Taken along with the 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, the impact on U.S. manufacturers and their workers would be staggering.” (americanprogress.org, Dec. 18, 2024)

While not directly challenging the imperialist and capitalist system of production, the existence of BRICS can aid workers and oppressed peoples around the world. BRICS countries are displaying self-sufficiency and independence from Western imperialism and settler colonialism. Relations between China and Russia have also strengthened because of BRICS. Many countries in the Global South have less of a need to trade with the U.S. than they did in previous decades, and therefore they have more leverage to maintain sovereignty.

Trump’s promotion of tariffs is harmful to workers all over the globe. Imperialist protectionism and isolationism are an obstacle to working-class unity, and they should be opposed. International solidarity is necessary in resisting anti-worker tariffs and defeating the racist, xenophobic “America First” agenda. Workers and oppressed peoples of the world, unite!