{"id":3730,"date":"2025-03-14T19:02:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T19:02:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3730"},"modified":"2025-03-14T19:02:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T19:02:29","slug":"opinion-a-small-but-important-risk-in-trumps-tariff-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friscotimes.org\/?p=3730","title":{"rendered":"Opinion | A Small but Important Risk in Trump\u2019s Tariff Games"},"content":{"rendered":"


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President Trump\u2019s bully-ball trade tactics are built on his belief that other countries need us more than we need them. Americans are the world\u2019s biggest shoppers, and Trump is betting that stores need customers more than customers need any particular store.<\/p>\n

But in one important respect, the United States is the store that needs customers. The government is heavily reliant on foreign buyers of federal debt. Between 2021 and 2023, 45 percent of the increase in federal borrowing was drawn from foreign pockets<\/a>, and most of that money came from private investors, not other governments.<\/p>\n

People in countries targeted by Trump\u2019s tariffs already are boycotting made-in-America products like Teslas<\/a> and Tennessee whiskey<\/a>. If they sour on Treasuries, too, Americans will feel the pain. When demand for Treasuries weakens, the government has to pay higher interest rates to woo investors, leaving less money for everything else.<\/p>\n

Trump is angering the rest of the world even as the United States needs its money more than ever. Federal spending is on the rise despite Trump\u2019s decimations of the federal work force, and projected revenues will take a big hit if Republicans extend Trump\u2019s 2017 tax cuts. The federal debt, measured as a share of national economic output, is on track<\/a> to surpass the record levels of World War II. And European countries, led by Germany<\/a>, are increasing their borrowing, intensifying competition for investment<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n