Thursday, December 04, 2003

HAH! President Bush decided to lift the steel tariffs, to no one's surprise. But he said that his decision has nothing to do with the WTO's ruling the tariffs illegal. Oh, no. The tariffs are just not necessary anymore. According to The Washington Post, Bush said:

These safeguard measures have now achieved their purpose, and as a result of changed economic circumstances it is time to lift them.

Nice. Good to know the political spin cycle still operates effectively. But even if Bush decided to get rid of the tariffs independent of the WTO and possible trade war with Europe, he made the right decision. The tariffs were bad economic policy from the beginning.

Not only do the tariffs interfere with free trade, they increase the cost of steel here in the U.S., leading to higher prices in many sectors of the economy that rely on steel.

So Bush may be hurt politically in Pennsylvania for raising giving up on the tariffs, but hopefully he learned his lesson on economics in the process.