Confinement's costs: the coming price of American protectionism

隔离成本:美国保护主义即将付出的代价

Editor's Picks from The Economist

2025-10-14

8 分钟
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A handpicked article read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. Donald Trump's intense isolationism has turned America into a fortress. But his brazen use of tariffs and immigration controls threatens to do long-term damage. Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.
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单集文稿 ...

  • Hi, John Prado here.

  • I host Checks and Balance, our podcast on US politics.

  • Welcome to Editors Picks.

  • Here's an article from the latest edition of The Economist, handpicked by our team and read aloud.

  • I hope you enjoy it.

  • President Donald Trump is building a wall around the world's largest economy.

  • As America's tariff barriers on everyone else have gone up,

  • so has the drawbridge, making it harder for migrants to enter the country.

  • The President wants to turn America into a fortress that keeps out foreign incursions.

  • In fact,

  • he is cutting America off from the very goods and talent that helped make its economy the envy of the world.

  • Already the damage is starting to show.

  • Once wreaked, it will not easily be reversed.

  • That is not how investors see it.

  • In the six months since Liberation Day,

  • when Mr. Trump slapped tariffs on America's trading partners,

  • financial markets have swung from panic to euphoria.

  • Elsewhere the picture is mixed.

  • Inflation has risen only a little as America's importing businesses have absorbed much of the tariff pain.

  • Although employment has stagnated as migration flows have stopped,