US trade protection will end up hurting low-income Americans

THE Trump administration is contemplating different methods of trade protection. Whether through tariffs or a border tax, trade protection is a consumer tax. The tax distorts markets to persuade consumers to buy more expensive domestic goods they do not want, instead of cheaper imported goods they do want.

A trade protection tax may protect jobs in inefficient domestic industries. Those jobs are paid for through a lower real standard of living (the cost of the tax). From a presentation perspective, a trade protection tax can be made to look attractive. The benefit of "1,000 American jobs saved" is more twee…