Tariffs (thread 3), Episode 12: FDR’s Lesson: You Can’t Tariff Your Way Out

If you’re wondering whether tariffs are the magic solution, FDR lived the hard answer: raising barriers worsened the collapse and choked off the very trade that could help recovery.

He’d say the fix was negotiation, not isolation — incremental, reciprocal deals to rebuild relationships and markets. Short-term protection looks good in a speech, but it rarely solves a systemic crisis.