Economic Update with Richard D. Wolff Trump's Tariff Policies: A Critique
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Mar 17, 2026 A critique of unilateral tariff moves and how they unsettle global trade and provoke retaliation. A constitutional breakdown of who actually controls tariff power. An argument that workplaces are structured authoritatively and that this shape spills into wider political life. A look at worker cooperatives presented as democratic alternatives to traditional firm hierarchies.
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Supreme Court Found Tariff Power Exceeded
- The Supreme Court ruled large parts of Trump's tariff program unconstitutional because the President cannot unilaterally control revenue-raising measures.
- Richard D. Wolff explains tariffs required Congressional authority over money and Trump's unilateral use of law violated the Constitution, prompting the Court's decision.
Tariff Rationale Tied To A Flawed 'Cheated' Narrative
- Trump justified tariffs claiming the U.S. was 'cheated' and that tariffs would raise revenue and bring back manufacturing jobs.
- Wolff notes both claims are linked and historically implausible given U.S. postwar economic dominance and the rhetoric's contradiction with facts.
Tariffs Failed To Reshore Manufacturing Jobs
- After one year of tariffs, U.S. manufacturing employment fell by 70,000, contradicting promises of reshoring jobs.
- Wolff uses official job counts to show the policy failed to generate the promised manufacturing employment gains.