<h3 data-start="345" data-end="413">Trump&rsquo;s Tariff Gamble and America&rsquo;s Costly Isolation</h3>
When <a title="US Tariff" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/trump-s-modi-praise-with-tariff-warning-twist/18423" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Donald Trump</a> promised to &ldquo;Make America Great Again,&rdquo; tariffs were at the heart of his industrial revival strategy. Yet years later, evidence shows that ordinary Americans&mdash;not <a title="China" href="https://www.benefitnews24.com/international/trump-s-modi-praise-with-tariff-warning-twist/18423" target="_blank" rel="noopener">China</a>, not India, not Russia&mdash;have borne the brunt of his trade wars.
At the centre of this confusion sits Peter Navarro, Trump&rsquo;s long-time trade advisor and staunch protectionist, who insists tariffs are the cure to America&rsquo;s economic challenges. His latest outburst&mdash;calling BRICS nations &ldquo;vampires sucking America&rsquo;s blood&rdquo;&mdash;is more than rhetoric. It reflects a policy that is backfiring both economically and geopolitically.
In contrast, Scott Bessent, another Trump confidant, advocates tariffs as a short-term negotiating tool. But Trump swings between these conflicting strategies, creating an unpredictable trade environment that unsettles allies, rattles markets, and emboldens rivals.
<h3 data-start="1320" data-end="1354">Who really pays for tariffs?</h3>
Navarro once insisted China was paying the price. But research tells a different story.
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<li data-start="1446" data-end="1548">
A Moody&rsquo;s study found 93% of tariff costs were borne by American businesses and consumers.
</li>
<li data-start="1549" data-end="1688">
The US Trade Commission (2023) confirmed Americans bore &ldquo;nearly the full cost&rdquo; of tariffs on steel, aluminium, and Chinese imports.
</li>
<li data-start="1689" data-end="1886">
Tariff revenues did rise&mdash;$71 billion in 2019 compared with $33 billion in 2017&mdash;but this was effectively a tax transfer from US importers to the Treasury, not a penalty on foreign exporters.
</li>
</ul>
The outcome? Higher input costs for US manufacturers, less investment, fewer jobs, and reduced household spending.
<h3 data-start="2015" data-end="2041">ALSO READ: https://www.benefitnews24.com/opinion/trump-s-tariff-gambit-shifts-global-balances/17917</h3>
<h3 data-start="2015" data-end="2041">Geopolitical fallout</h3>
Far from strengthening Washington&rsquo;s hand, America risks isolation. Navarro&rsquo;s claim that BRICS members &ldquo;hate each other and kill each other&rdquo; may play well on television, but it ignores reality. China and India may clash, but both have deepened their strategic and economic roles within BRICS, which is slowly positioning itself as a counterweight to the Western-led order.
By treating trade as a zero-sum battle rather than a cooperative system, the US risks pushing countries closer to each other, undermining the very dominance Trump seeks to preserve.
<h3 data-start="2624" data-end="2656">The irony of Trump&rsquo;s dream</h3>
Trump&rsquo;s dream of reviving American manufacturing sounds noble. Yet protectionism often achieves the opposite. Tariffs make domestic production costlier, discourage innovation, and reduce competitiveness.
Consider Navarro&rsquo;s other policy missteps:
<ul data-start="2913" data-end="3186">
<li data-start="2913" data-end="2997">
Blocking reforms to the Jones Act, which already inflates US shipping costs.
</li>
<li data-start="2998" data-end="3115">
Backing a $765 million contract with Kodak to produce pharmaceuticals&mdash;a fiasco abandoned after investigation.
</li>
<li data-start="3116" data-end="3186">
Ending his tenure with a prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
</li>
</ul>
Is this the blueprint for making America a global industrial hub?
<h3 data-start="3262" data-end="3285">A dangerous wager</h3>
Trump&rsquo;s tariff strategy is not just confused&mdash;it is dangerously costly. If pursued further, Americans risk a future where their wallets grow thinner while geopolitical rivals grow stronger.
The irony is striking: in the effort to stop &ldquo;vampires&rdquo; abroad, Trump&rsquo;s tariffs are bleeding America at home.
&nbsp;

Navarro’s “vampire” taunt at BRICS hides a costly truth—Americans pay the price

Trump’s tariff gamble may haunt America

Navarro’s “vampire” taunt at BRICS hides a costly truth—Americans pay the price

September 9, 2025 | 16:47 IST