Trump was right to pressure the UK to reduce its non-tariff barriers, and the biggest beneficiary will be the British economy.
President Donald Trump claimed his first victory in his trade war on Thursday: a deal with the UK under which it will reduce many non-tariff barriers in exchange for a 10% US tariff on British goods and possibly lower tariffs on steel and aluminum. While a 10% tariff isn’t much of a win — it’s about three times the average for developed countries — a reduction of non-tariff barriers is something worth bragging about.
Non-tariff barriers, called NTBs, are regulations that restrict trade and make it harder or more expensive for foreign firms to sell goods and services in a given country. By bringing attention to them, Trump is doing the world a service, since they are costly for all involved — especially the country that enacts them. In that sense, the real winner in this deal will be the UK.
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Allison Schrager is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and a contributing editor of City Journal.
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