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By Ben Jealous
In the Trump era, economic policy often comes with more bluster than strategy. His latest round of tariffs is no exception. Slapped on a broad swath of imported goods without rhyme, reason, or regard for the people who will bear the brunt of the cost – American families and workers – these tariffs are a political stunt masquerading as industrial policy.
Let’s be clear: tariffs can be a tool for economic transformation. But they must be wielded with precision, guided by vision, and paired with bold investments. What Trump is doing is none of that.
His scattershot approach will disturb the ongoing US manufacturing renaissance and raise prices on everything from cars to appliances, hitting working families hardest. The administration’s recently announced 25% tariff on all cars and auto parts not made entirely in the United States could drive up the cost of an average new car by thousands of dollars. And for what? There are no clear signals to industry, no long-term plans for job creation, no environmental guardrails – just chaos and chestthumping.
We’ve seen this movie before. During Trump’s first term, similar tariffs on steel and aluminum were supposed to help revive American manufacturing. And they could have, had he invested in clean, safe, high-tech production and the American supply chain. Instead, Trump opted for pain and scarcity. Less availability of metals had a negative downstream impact on the industries that relied on them. Prices on goods made with metals went up. And American metals makers didn’t have a reason to invest in advanced manufacturing.
American manufacturing actually has been revived since then, but it was the Biden-Harris administration’s Inflation Reduction Act and other initiatives like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that were responsible. The previous administration’s trade policy was also smarter, with narrowly focused tariff increases specifically targeted to China and on sectors critical to the clean energy transition – solar panels, electric vehicles, EV batteries, semiconductors, and yes, steel and aluminum. Ideally, tariffs should be paired with investments in domestic manufacturing, particularly in facilities that are clean, unionized, and ready to meet the climate challenge. And tariffs should send a clear message to competitors that there will be consequences for polluting, relying on forced labor, and other harmful practices.
This is not just about economics; it is about justice. Low-income and working-class communities have borne the brunt of dirty industry and offshored jobs. Reindustrializing America has to be different this time. We need a clean, equitable economy built with and for working families.
And here’s the good news: it is possible. I have seen it. From my time crisscrossing the country opposing NAFTA 30 years ago to my current work with the Sierra Club, I have stood shoulder-to-shoulder with labor leaders, environmental advocates, and frontline communities. We agree more often than not. We want trade policies that lift wages, protect the planet, and rebuild domestic industries – not that rig the game for polluters and drive up prices on already-struggling consumers.
One step in the right direction is for trade agreements and tariffs to address pollution and include carbon border adjustment mechanisms – fees based on the pollution in imported goods exceeding US levels. If your steel pollutes rivers in Mexico or your solar panels are made with coal power in China, you should not get a free pass in the US market. These mechanisms level the playing field, give American manufacturers a reason to go green and become cleaner, and improve conditions for workers and manufacturing communities overseas.
We also need to update agreements like the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement to include rapid-response mechanisms not just for labor abuses, but for environmental violations too. If a country undercuts us by trashing its air and water, we should be able to act quickly.
Trump’s tariffs don’t do any of that. They are about headlines, not outcomes. And we do not have time for empty gestures. The climate crisis is here. American workers are tired of being played. And families across this country cannot afford higher prices with no payoff.
We need a real plan. One that brings together labor and environmentalists, manufacturers and frontline communities. One that builds a new industrial vision—not just for profit, but for people and planet.
The path is clear. What we need now is the courage to walk it.
Ben Jealous is the Executive Director of the Sierra Club and a Professor of Practice at the University of Pennsylvania.