Back in 2019, Donald Trump put his stamp on the USMCA, the rebooted version of NAFTA. He touted it as a win, a deal shaped by his own demands—especially on trade rules and tariffs. Fast forward to now, and he’s slapping unilateral tariffs on whoever he feels like, thumbing his nose at the very agreement he pushed through. This isn’t just a flip-flop; it’s a gut punch to the spirit and letter of the USMCA, a law he insisted on crafting and once called “the best agreement we’ve ever made” in 2020.
As a longtime tax professional, I’ve seen plenty of government overreach, but this takes the cake. The USMCA was supposed to lock in predictable trade terms—terms Trump himself wanted. Now he’s treating it like a suggestion, not a law. Imagine running a business or a country and signing a deal with someone who’ll ditch it the second it doesn’t suit him. Who’d trust that? It’s not just bad faith; it’s a neon sign screaming that rules only matter until the rule-maker gets bored.
This isn’t about left or right—it’s about consistency and liberty. If you champion individual freedom, you don’t get to shred contracts and impose your will by fiat. That’s the kind of centralized power grab Ayn Rand warned us about, the kind I’ve spent years calling out in tax policy. Trump’s tariffs aren’t just economic meddling; they’re a betrayal of the principles he claimed to stand for.
And here’s the kicker: this isn’t even clever enough to hide. It’s blatant, sloppy, and reeks of the same arrogance that fuels bloated bureaucracies and tax codes designed to choke out the little guy. Government loves to rig the game—promising fairness while picking winners behind closed doors. Trump’s tariff stunt is that game in overdrive: make a rule, break a rule, and leave everyone else scrambling.
The numbers paint a stark picture of the potential impact, though the timeline has shifted. Trump initially announced a 25% tariff on goods imported from Canada and Mexico, However, the administration subsequently decided to delay implementation of these tariffs until April. When enacted, they are expected to affect about half of goods from Mexico and more than one-third from Canada. Economists warn this could significantly impact American consumers, potentially raising the cost of North American-made vehicles by $4,000 to $10,000.
The USMCA has shown its worth, with 25 labor complaints filed under its Rapid Response Labor Mechanism from May 2021 to June 2024, resulting in 21 prompt resolutions that improved wages and working conditions for Mexican workers. Now, all of this progress hangs in the balance due to one man’s capricious decision-making. It’s not strength—it’s the tantrum of a guy who thinks he’s above the system he swore to uphold. That’s not a leader. That’s a liability.