The trade war between President Donald J. Trump and the world is nearing an end. It appears he implemented “The Art of The (Trade) Deal” to perfection, because foreign leaders are falling all over themselves to reduce trade barriers to American products. Tariffs are dangerous for the American economy, yet it appears that President Trump paid his hand perfectly to force foreign nations to stop unfair trade practices.
The hope is these tariffs are temporary and have served the purpose of getting our trade partners to the negotiating table. ABC News reported on April 25, 2025, “President Donald Trump, in a wide-ranging interview with Time magazine published Friday, claimed he's already ‘made 200 deals’ on tariffs and said he's spoken with Chinese President Xi Jinping.” The president was asked a follow up about that number and confirmed he has made 200 new deals “100%.” This is a great development and shows that the tough talk from some members of his staff was a threat if they did not come to the table and not a promise for permanence.
There is more good news - other nations are responding favorably. The New York Times reports that “the Chinese government is considering whether to exclude some essential products from its retaliatory 125 percent tariffs on American goods, said the head of an American business group in China.” This is more evidence the leadership shown by President Trump to focus on lowering taxes, getting better trade deals, and reducing regulation on private enterprise is right on schedule.
The goal of this trade battle was to pressure our adversaries and allies to come to the table to talk trade. The fact that President Trump is engaging with foreign leaders shows that the short-term tariff play worked. However, the longer the tariffs stay in place, the more unnecessary pain Americans will feel - as the policy has already accomplished its stated goal.
There are forces within the Trump Administration who want to use tariffs as a permanent aspect of U.S. trade relations. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) highlighted the devastation by pointing out “tariffs are taxes on foreign imports that are paid by American consumers” that, if long-term, could lead to imported car prices being hiked by between $5,000 and $15,000. The impact on grocery prices, gas, home prices would hit lower income households the hardest. It appears that President Trump has gone in a different direction. Listening to his staff who want to entrent tariffs permanently would be a mistake.
The biggest losers in a long trade war would be small businesses and American consumers. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce pointed out that “tariffs on imported goods, parts, and raw materials have small businesses scrambling to adjust, adapt, and ultimately, survive this new economic reality and that “small businesses across nearly every industry say tariffs will diminish profits and impact everything from expansion plans to hiring.” The worry is that many small businesses may go out of business even with temporary tariffs. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that small businesses contributed 55% of the total net job creation from 2013 to 2023. When you consider that there are over 33 million small businesses that employ over 60 million Americans, the impact of tariffs on small businesses should be part of the calculation on how long to keep them in place.
Consumers will be hammered when they buy groceries. Americans enjoy products like olive oil, that we can’t source in sufficient supplies domestically, or the fruits and vegetables which are sourced from Central and South America. Consumers will be getting away from healthy options if the prices rise uncontrollably. American importers bring in large amounts of tomatoes from Mexico and a tariff on groceries will show up when Americans go out for a salad or hit the store to pick up some tomatoes to cut up for a spaghetti dinner. One of the big reasons why President Joe Biden is now hanging out at Delaware beaches instead of the White House Oval Office is because Americans were enraged at high grocery prices.
Time for the Trump Administration to dial back tariffs with exemptions, maybe for groceries, and to drop them when he cuts these new trade deals. To use a football analogy, time to spike the football in the end zone and celebrate a victory in leveraging fair trade deals.
Peter Mihalick is former legislative director and counsel to former Reps. Barbara Comstock, Virginia Republican, and Rodney Blum, Iowa Republican.