Liberation Day and Trump tariffs are not the end of trade. It's only the beginning

Our economists say the invisible hand will take care of us. But they ignore what is right in front of them. Manufacturing remains the most productive sector of the American economy.

Liberation Day marks the return of national self-respect. It means producing our own medicines and military equipment, building our own technology, forging our own steel.  Michael Stumo is the Associate Director for Economic Policy at the White House Office of Management and Budget and Director of the Made in America Office. He previously served as the founder and CEO of the Coalition for a Prosperous America. Follow him on X @michael_stumo.

For decades, Wall Street globalists and coastal elites told us that "free trade" was an unquestioned good. But in reality, the U.S. became the importer of last resort—the dumping ground for the world’s overproduction. China, Vietnam, and the EU—these are surplus nations whose strategy is to overproduce, under-consume, and rely on American demand to drive their growth. And they often launder their goods through countries like Mexico and Canada to skirt responsibility.