‘Everybody Loses’: Robert Reich Says Trump’s ‘Trade War’ Could Trigger ‘The End of the American Hegemony’

Reich Warns Trump Tariffs Could Undermine U.S. Global Power

Economist and former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich issued a stern warning on CNBC’s "The Bottom Line," arguing that President Donald Trump’s latest round of aggressive tariffs could destabilize the global economy and potentially trigger "the end of the American hegemony." Kore Chan / Senior Staff for The Daily Californian / Wikimedia

U.S. Dollar at Risk, Says Reich: Gets a "Free Ride” from Reserve Status

Speaking with host Lindsey Jacobson in an interview posted May 19, Reich said the sweeping tariffs will not only drive up prices on a wide range of imported goods but could also jeopardize the U.S. dollar’s standing as the world’s reserve currency. “Having the dollar be the reserve currency helps all of us Americans here because we get, in a sense, a free ride,” Reich explained. “We get the benefits of the rest of the global economy investing in us.” Adam Nir / Unsplash

Investor Pullback: Reich Says Tariff-Induced “Chaos” Is Driving Capital Out

Reich, a longtime critic of protectionist trade policies, said the ripple effects of these tariffs are already causing harm. “The problem with chaos is that nobody dares makes any investments,” he said, noting that international investors are withdrawing from the U.S. amid the mounting uncertainty. “Uncertainty is the enemy of investment. Uncertainty is the enemy of economic growth… And the problem, in a nutshell, is that the president doesn't seem to know what he wants.” Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics / Wikimedia

Reich Compares Trump’s Tariffs to Great Depression-Era Mistakes

He drew a historical comparison to the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act of 1930, implemented under Republican President Herbert Hoover. That policy, widely blamed for deepening the Great Depression, was followed by Hoover’s landslide loss to Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1932. Underwood & Underwood / Wikimedia

“Everybody Loses”: Reich Says Tariffs Hurt Low-Income Americans Most

Reich argued that Trump’s tariffs function like a regressive tax, hitting lower-income Americans hardest. “Every consumer, effectively, is poorer,” he said. “It is a regressive tax in the sense that consumers who have lower incomes… have to pay a larger portion of their incomes in the form of this tariff tax… Everybody loses. Nobody wins from a trade war.” The White House / Wikimedia