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FORTUNE.COM // SEPTEMBER 2019
ECONOMY TALK TO ANYONE in Trumpland, and
you’ll hear that America is winning
the trade war. “The economic burden is falling
vastly more on them than on us,” proclaimed the
President’s chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow in
early August as the conflict escalated. But if you
look past the rhetoric and crunch the numbers, a
strikingly different picture emerges. The more
Trump ratchets up tensions, the more he hurts the
U.S. economy. By forcing U.S. companies and
consumers to pay far more for everything from
The True Cost
of the Trade War
As the dispute rages, Trump’s policies are creating
what economists call “deadweight” losses that
could hurt the U.S. far more than tariffs will China.
By Shawn Tully
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