Trump Trade War: How Japan shaped Trump’s perspective on tariffs

Jennifer Miller, an associate professor of history at Dartmouth University, said others shared concerns about the economy at the time.

Japan provided competition for US manufacturing, particularly in home appliances and automobiles. With US factories closed and new Japanese brands entering the market, critics were talking about Japan surpassing the US as the world’s leading economy.

“Trump is a symbolic of many people asking questions about American leaders in the US-led international order, and whether it actually served the United States,” says Professor Miller.

Before Oprah’s appearance, Trump had spent nearly $100,000 to release an “open letter” in full-page ads in three major US newspapers.

The headline says, “There is nothing wrong with America’s foreign defense policy.

In it, he said that Japan and other countries had been using the United States for decades. He argued that “Japanese people are not hampered by the enormous costs of protecting themselves (as long as the US does it for free), they have built an unprecedented surplus and powerful, vibrant economy.” did.

Trump believed the obvious solution was to “tax” these wealthy nations.

“The world is laughing at American politicians because we are destined for allies that don’t help us protect ships we don’t own, carry oil we don’t need, and don’t help,” he wrote Ta.