Rising tariffs roil political waters, adding confusion about U.S. role

The midterm congressional elections in America are coming up in a couple of weeks and far more is at stake than normally might be.

In foreign affairs, President Donald Trump has roiled waters around the world with capricious raising of tariffs. His back-and-forth with China is disrupting commerce all over the globe. Our European allies are backing away from what they consider to be an unreliable partner. Tariff hikes against us are certainly to follow.

The result is a slowdown in trade between us and all of our trading partners, which will have serious effects on our economy and prosperity. China has said it will retaliate on $60 billion in U.S. products — which is already resulting in plant closings, including a major one in Vice President Mike Pence’s home state of Indiana, plus projects canceled or moving elsewhere. These will ratchet up our economic stress.

Our European allies are frustrated with our tariff increases and will doubtless retaliate further, likely slowing commerce both ways. Other countries are upset as well.

The chaos and confusion in our government is well described in several books, especially Bob Woodward’s “FEAR—Trump in the White House,” which details the chaos and danger this president has created for our country. Politically, we are slowly dissolving into instability; the economy appears headed for weakness in the months to come, and protests are rising in all sections of our country.

One important consequence strongly illustrates this point: Trump imposed a 20 percent-plus tariff on Canadian newsprint, which will cost some towns their newspapers and shrink others, This was nonsensical and likely to contribute to diminished quality and availability of newspapers both short and long term — but he has also derided our free press consistently throughout his campaign and presidency.

The pandemonium and confusion in American government today is shocking, but the forces that brought Trump to power have parallels across democracies everywhere.

A critical problem in the U.S, today is Brett Kavanaugh’s appointment to the Supreme Court. In a case almost duplicating the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court in 1991, a woman came forward asserting that the nominee sexually assaulted her at a social event 30 years ago.

The Republican majority on the Senate committee overseeing the nomination dallied about hearing her testimony and procrastinated until many Americans were outraged. The onerous restrictions on the FBI “investigation” of the matter aroused and angered many women (and many men) across the American political spectrum.

The political kettle is boiling, and yet our attention is being diverted from real difficulties that Trump is creating (environmental, economic, and political gerrymandering ) that we face down the line.

Much of this will come to a head in the next Congress, and that is why these midterm elections are critical for our future in the country we know and love. The chatter in the newspapers and our communities grows more vocal every day. Pay attention to how the candidates react to the real problems we face; it will tell a lot.

I spent two years in the US Navy, and 25 years in the American Foreign Service, and I sense that our country is in more danger now that at any time in the past 60 years, and we are not focusing enough on dealing with issues critical to our survival as a nation. Inform yourself, and vote wisely.