In an era where globalism has hollowed out American industry and left the nation vulnerable, President Donald Trump's tariff policies stand as a bold corrective—a proven strategy to restore manufacturing, protect jobs, and secure the United States' future. Far from the outdated relic critics claim, tariffs are a dynamic tool that history and Trump's own record show can deliver real results. As George Christensen argues in his Nation First newsletter, the evidence from Trump's first term dismantles the naysayers and lights the way forward. Here's why Trumpian tariffs work, and why America needs them now more than ever. And Australia too.

Let's start with the numbers. During Trump's first term, his administration slapped tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) from Canada in 2018, followed by a broader 25% tariff on $50 billion of Chinese goods. Critics howled, prices would soar, jobs would vanish, allies would turn away. Yet the reality defied the doom-saying. Within a year, U.S. steel production surged by 8%, adding 2,000 jobs to an industry that had been bleeding for decades under free-trade dogma. Aluminium followed suit, with production jumping 15% and 1,500 jobs created as smelters roared back to life. This wasn't theory; it was steel in the ground, workers on the line, and pay cheques in pockets. By 2020, manufacturing employment hit levels unseen since the 2008 crash, 500,000 new jobs added—proving tariffs could spark a renaissance where globalism had left rust.

The mechanism is simple: tariffs level the playing field. For too long, nations like China exploited lax trade rules, flooding U.S. markets with cheap goods, often subsidised or dumped, while slapping their own barriers on American exports. Christensen highlights how China's steel overcapacity, peaking at 400 million tons in 2015, gutted American producers unable to compete with prices artificially slashed by state-backed firms. Trump's tariffs flipped the script, making foreign goods pricier and giving domestic industries breathing room to rebuild. The result? U.S. firms invested $6 billion in new steel facilities by 2019, a direct response to restored competitiveness. This isn't punishment, it's fairness, ensuring American workers aren't sacrificial lambs to global profiteers.

Beyond economics, tariffs are a shield for national security. Relying on foreign powers for essentials like steel, vital for ships, tanks, and infrastructure, is a gamble no superpower can afford. Christensen underscores this with Canada's example: despite its proximity, its steel exports to the U.S. threatened self-reliance in a sector critical to defence. Trump's tariffs cut that dependency, dropping Canadian steel imports by 50% and forcing U.S. production to step up. In a world of rising tensions, think China's sabre-rattling or Russia's ambitions, this isn't paranoia; it's prudence. A nation that can't forge its own steel can't fight its own battles.

Then there's the fiscal upside. Tariffs aren't just a stick, they're a revenue carrot. In 2019 alone, Trump's trade policies raked in $70 billion, dwarfing the $40 billion from Obama's last year. That's money not squeezed from American taxpayers but harvested from foreign firms tapping the world's richest market. Christensen envisions this as a cornerstone of Trump's second term: slashing income taxes by shifting the burden to tariffs, a move echoing America's 19th-century playbook when tariffs funded up to 90% of federal coffers. Imagine a family keeping more of their pay cheque because Chinese importers foot the bill, economic relief with a patriotic twist.

Critics bleat about higher prices, and sure, a $1,000 washing machine might creep to $1,050. But Christensen counters with cold logic: short-term pain pales next to long-term gain. That extra $50 fuels factories, hires workers, and cuts reliance on shaky global supply chains, chains that snapped during Covid, leaving shelves bare. And consumers aren't fools; they adapt, buying American or waiting out price hikes as competition kicks in. Data backs this: inflation under Trump's tariffs rose just 0.2% in 2019, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, hardly the apocalypse economists predicted. Meanwhile, wages grew 3.3%, outpacing costs and putting more cash in workers' hands. The trade-off? A stronger, self-sufficient economy over fleeting bargains.

Trump's first term also showed tariffs as a diplomatic hammer. China, faced with $550 billion in targeted duties by 2020, blinked—signing the Phase One trade deal, pledging $200 billion in U.S. purchases. Canada and Mexico, hit with steel tariffs, renegotiated NAFTA into the USMCA, boosting U.S. exports by $235 billion annually. This isn't chaos; it's leverage, bending adversaries and allies alike to America's advantage. Christensen sees this as Trump's ace in 2025: tariffs on Canada (25%) and Mexico (25%), announced in March 2025, already nudging talks to curb fentanyl flows and secure borders. Strength, not handshakes, wins concessions.

The historical lens sharpens the case. From 1861 to 1933, America thrived under high tariffs, averaging 40% on manufactures, building the industrial giant that won two world wars. Leaders like Lincoln saw it clear: "Give us a protective tariff, and we shall have the greatest nation on earth." Globalists scoff, pointing to Smoot-Hawley's 1930 flop, but that was a misfire, too broad, too late in a depression. Trump's tariffs are surgical, targeting threats like China's $418 billion trade deficit with the U.S. in 2024. They're not relics; they're tools, honed for today's fight.

Detractors—Wall Street, Davos, the IMF—cry trade war, but their free-trade gospel has gutted Main Street for decades. Christensen nails it: tariffs aren't about isolation; they're about sovereignty. Trump's record proves they deliver—jobs, security, revenue, and respect. As he doubles down in 2025, the stakes are higher, but so are the rewards. This isn't a gamble; it's a blueprint, tested and true, to make America not just great, but unbreakable. The prosecution rests on results: tariffs work, and Trump knows it.

https://nationfirst.substack.com/p/tariffs-work

The globalist system has gutted Western industry, exploded debt, and left nations vulnerable—Trump's tariffs are the correction we've needed for decades.

• Tariffs generate massive revenue without taxing citizens, protect local jobs, and make foreign exploiters pay their share.

• They slash trade deficits, rebuild domestic production, and reduce dangerous reliance on hostile regimes.

• Tariffs are also strategic weapons—used to pressure foreign powers, defend free speech, and demand fair treatment.

• Australia and other nations should follow Trump's lead, not mock it—because sovereignty, strength, and survival are on the line.

Let's get one thing straight: the United States is drowning in debt. Over $34 trillion and climbing. The debt-to-GDP ratio is hovering around 120%—a level once reserved for failed economies. And the global system that led them there—the one championed by Davos technocrats, unelected World Bank bureaucrats, IMF enforcers, and World Economic Forum mouthpieces—is the same one that hollowed out their industry, shipped wealth offshore, and turned the greatest industrial economy in human history into a debt-addicted consumer shell.

Trump's answer? Tariffs. Not to punish—but to reset.

By imposing tariffs—10%, 30%, even 54% on China—Trump is doing what Western leaders should have done decades ago. He's creating a massive stream of federal revenue without raising taxes on American families. Instead of squeezing workers and producers, he's making foreign corporations pay their way.

The logic is bulletproof. Widespread tariffs could generate hundreds of billions annually. That's not speculation—it's economic reality, provided trade volumes hold. And even if prices rise slightly, that's a price worth paying. Better to pay a little more for locally made goods than pay everything in sovereignty to foreign slave-labour economies.

This isn't new, either. Historically, tariffs were the primary way America funded its government—long before income tax was even conceived. They paid for infrastructure, national security, and growth. Trump isn't breaking the rules—he's returning to the foundation.

That's the first blow against globalism: raising money without bleeding your own people dry.

But it doesn't stop there.

Trump's tariffs also strike at the heart of America's $1 trillion trade deficit. That figure isn't just staggering—it's a strategic liability. A nation that consumes more than it produces, year after year, is a nation mortgaging its future. Every year, the U.S. sends a trillion dollars offshore—often to regimes that oppose its values—just to feed the consumption beast.

Tariffs flip the script. They discourage cheap imports, make domestic production competitive again, and keep more dollars at home. They reduce dependence on hostile creditors like China and Japan. And as domestic output rises, so does GDP—improving the debt-to-GDP ratio not by austerity, but by strength. Trump is attacking the disease, not the symptoms.

And there's more. Tariffs are not just economic policy—they're geopolitical weapons. Trump knows this. He's using them to force hostile regimes and weak allies alike to the negotiating table. High tariffs can compel countries to buy American, open their markets, invest in U.S. industries, and yes—stop interfering with free speech.

Imagine telling a regime: if you want your tariff dropped, stop censoring American platforms like Meta and X. That's the kind of leverage the West should be using, not surrendering. Some even suggest tariffs could be used to pressure debt-holding nations into forgiving or restructuring U.S. obligations in exchange for trade relief—turning America's consumer market into a bargaining chip.

These aren't wild theories. They're strategic plays from a man who understands the long game.

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And tariffs don't just serve the nation—they protect the worker.

And I've seen that need firsthand.

When I was a Member of Parliament, a local manufacturer called me out to his facility. After showing me around—proud Aussie workers, clean operations, world-class products—he sat me down and got straight to the point:

"George, I can't compete. I'm up against imports made by workers earning two dollars a day in countries with no safety standards. If nothing changes, I'll be forced to close."

That's not competition. That's sabotage.

Tariffs level the playing field. They say: if you want access to our markets, you'll play by our rules. You'll pay fair wages. You'll meet safety standards. You won't pollute and exploit just to undercut those who play fair. Trump is rebalancing the scales—and it's about time.

The entire world seems to be wringing its hands and clutching at its pearls over the new Trump tariff regime—none more so than Australia, which is currently engaged in a federal election where both of its political leaders, left and right, are trying to outdo each other in criticisms of Trump. Yet, Australia is a great example of how, behind the political posturing and rhetoric of national leaders the world over, lies a fair bit of hypocrisy and, more so, indifference to the plight of its own people and industries.

So, ask yourself: why shouldn't Australia do what Trump is doing?

We've lost our car industry. We import over 90% of our pharmaceuticals. Our fuel refining capacity is dangerously low. We rely on China for fertiliser, electronics, and defence manufacturing inputs. Our nation couldn't fight a real war—or even sustain an economic shock—without foreign permission.

We've got critical industries—steel, agriculture, food processing—that have been bled dry by cheap imports and one-sided trade deals. Tariffs could be our lifeline. They could rebuild regional towns. Create secure, well-paid jobs. Make this country self-reliant again.

A sovereign nation should be able to feed itself, power itself, defend itself, and manufacture what it needs to survive. Tariffs make that possible.

But courage is exactly what Canberra lacks.

Instead, Canberra's response is a mix of sanctimony and spinelessness. Our leaders would rather worship at the altar of the World Trade Organisation than defend our sovereign interests. They're more interested in attending global summits than protecting Australian workers. And they'll rage against Trump because he exposes their failure. He shows what leadership actually looks like.

As mentioned previously, there's a fair bit of hypocrisy amidst all the hand-wringing about the new Trump tariff regime. In Australia, that hypocrisy is staggering.

These same leaders who condemn Trump for "protectionism" are the ones enforcing a 10% GST on personal imports—even when they're not being resold. They impose a luxury car tax—targeting foreign vehicles, because nearly all luxury cars are imported. They're happy to tax you but won't lift a finger to protect your job from foreign exploitation.

And for what? So they can get a pat on the head from Davos?

Meanwhile, Trump is doing what every serious national leader should be doing. He's reducing the trade deficit, boosting domestic production, raising revenue without hammering taxpayers, and reasserting American independence on the world stage. He's wielding tariffs like the geopolitical weapons they are—demanding better trade terms, defending free speech, and turning the tide against economic globalism.

He's not isolating America—he's fortifying it.

And every nation that values its future should take notes.

This isn't about nostalgia. It's not about protectionism for the sake of it. It's about survival. National survival. It's about rebuilding strength, regaining control, and refusing to be a dumping ground for slave-made products wrapped in false virtue.

Trump's tariffs are a threat—to globalists. Not to workers. Not to citizens. Not to nations who want their dignity back.

He's leading the charge—and others will follow, if they have the courage.

It's time to stop mocking. Time to start learning.

Protect your industries. Protect your workers. Defend your nation's economic future.

Or be left behind."

Trump's Beautiful Tariffs:

"Oil prices are down, interest rates are down (the slow moving Fed should cut rates!), food prices are down, there is NO INFLATION, and the long time abused USA is bringing in Billions of Dollars a week from the abusing countries on Tariffs that are already in place. This is despite the fact that the biggest abuser of them all, China, whose markets are crashing, just raised its Tariffs by 34%, on top of its long term ridiculously high Tariffs (Plus!), not acknowledging my warning for abusing countries not to retaliate. They've made enough, for decades, taking advantage of the Good OL' USA! Our past "leaders" are to blame for allowing this, and so much else, to happen to our Country. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" President Trump."