In a way, tariffs, sanctions and bans all boil down to one word: no. We’ve just had a month of “no”. No-vember, you could even say.

But not all noes are the same. Tariffs, sanctions and bans are designed to achieve different things. This November, the words became confused, a scrambled negation.

So it is with Donald Trump’s tariffs, promised during the election campaign as a way to protect American manufacturing interests in the face of competition from global trade. These promises spoke to the towns and cities gutted and citizens rendered jobless and hopeless as corporates offshored their business. They painted a picture of resurgent industry and innovation in America, leading to prosperity for working people.

Trump’s tariff announcement wiped billions from the Australian sharemarket.Credit:

The idea of tariffs has economists in a flap. As you are sure to have heard them patiently, if condescendingly, explain by now, tariffs are really taxes on consumers in the country that imposes them. They make imported goods more expensive, lowering the overall buying power of the average punter.

In an economists’ paradise, our interests would be best served by removing trade barriers entirely and letting every country produce according to its ability and sell to others according to their need. Unfortunately, humanity has proven unworthy of this lofty ideal. In the real world, there are wars and chaos. In this world, a tariff can serve a strategic purpose – for instance, a country might put a tariff on the import of milk to protect its........

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