The Very Stable Genius clearly doesn't understand free markets

Taylor Millard at Hot Air has a dismaying bit of news for us: Trump wants to slap 24 percent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum. Not only would this raise the cost of innumerable goods, both of the end-use-consumer and industrial-supply-chain variety, but it would spark a trade war.

Indeed, some countries, including allies whose support we n need on a variety of fronts, are already expressing unhappiness:

So let me get this straight: the U.S. has to start subsidizing the steel industry because other countries are doing it. This logic is so antithetical to what an actual free market means, letting consumers decide which products they want to buy, which probably means the cheapest product out there. If a foreign company is offering goods at a lower price than a U.S. company, then the buyer will go for the lower price. A tax on foreign steel (yes, tariffs are taxes) will force buyers to pay more on steel and aluminum, especially if U.S. steel producers don’t lower their prices. One thing National Review’s Jibran Khan noted is how the expected tariff will hurt businesses, more than help (emphasis mine).

The move has sparked backlash from governments and businessmen across the world, including many American allies. The president of South Korea, Moon Jae-in, threatens to complain to the World Trade Commission if the Trump administration imposes steel protectionism, and he has suggested expanding exports to Russia and Southeast Asia given the uncertainty of the U.S. market. Earlier this week the news emerged that the European Union is ready to respond to the Trump plan with tariffs on American products. It ought to embarrass Republicans that a GOP administration is proving less friendly to international trade than are some formerly Communist states.

Nice work, Mr. President.

Please, next time, let's select someone as president who actually does some thinking.