At its core, the idea of free trade seems to be the most ideal form of commerce between countries. However, with each individual country’s growing self-interest, free trade becomes increasingly unlikely as tariffs begin to dominate the global market. A tariff, simply put, is a tax on imported goods, intended to encourage and protect domestic industries. Superficially, Trump‘s tariffs do exactly that-tax imported goods, particularly those coming from China, a famously cheap exporter. Trump’s idea is to incentivize Americans to start their own factories to produce domestic goods; however, he fails to consider that only a tiny fraction of the American workforce can support this plan.

This is problematic because goods that are normally considered cheap, such as t-shirts, are now being significantly upscaled in price. Furthermore, businesses that depended on Chinese or other foreign factories for imported goods are struggling to maintain revenue. In an ideal scenario, tariffs should work by increasing domestic production and discouraging international purchases, but in this case, they solely increase prices because there is not a sufficient domestic workforce to meet such high production demands.

Personally, this issue is deeply rooted in my family. My father, who owns a makeup business, originally had his products produced in China and then shipped to the United States for sale. However, the tariffs imposed by Trump increased the cost of shipping the makeup, forcing him to raise prices. With these increased prices, his business has struggled. Like my father, many business owners who relied on the ability to cheaply produce and ship items from factories in China and sell them in the States are now facing significant challenges.

Given that this is a topic of international debate, the individual likely cannot effect immediate change regarding these tariffs. However, the upcoming election provides an opportunity for communities negatively impacted by the tariffs to advocate for their repeal. Addressing this topic presents a significant challenge for me; however, I am certain that countless other businesses are experiencing the same struggles my father‘s business faces due to these tariffs.

My hope for the future is to inform my community about how these tariffs are harming local business owners so that change can be made in the next election. Although addressing such a vast and controversial topic is highly ambitious, change begins with ambition. In the future, I aspire to see meaningful change for the many business owners desperately waiting, like my father.

<Aiden Choi 서니힐스 고교 11학년>