Trial by Tariffs (Editorial)

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Five years ago this month, a pandemic challenged business leaders — and everyone — in a way they had never been challenged. The pandemic snarled supply chains, spiked inflation and sent millions in the labor force to their homes.

Five years after that business-threatening event, President Donald Trump has made good on his promise to impose tariffs on the United States’ biggest trading partners: Canada, Mexico and China. Canada and Mexico plan retaliatory tariffs and China has already implemented tariffs on U.S. goods. A full-blown trade war appears to be underway.

And as with the COVID pandemic, tariffs are sure to complicate supply chains and likely to increase inflation.

Trump said he imposed the tariffs because of the “extraordinary threat posed by illegal aliens and drugs.” Other Trump goals include eliminating trade imbalances and reshoring manufacturing to the United States.

These are not necessarily bad goals, though the president’s metrics for achieving these goals are unclear, and returning manufacturing to these shores could take years. Few businesses have years to adjust their survival strategies.

In the meantime, business leaders in Arkansas must again adapt — “pivot” was the term endlessly used during the pandemic — to survive. The outcome is likely to be … messy.