Retaliatory tariffs apropos of Ugly Americans
Published Dominion Post, Apr. 27, 2025. Reprinted with permission.
“The Ugly American” originated as the title of a 1958 book describing American diplomacy failures in Southeast Asia. The term was quickly adopted internationally to describe Americans as stereotypically loud, arrogant, self-absorbed, demeaning, thoughtless, ignorant and ethnocentric, mainly abroad, but also at home. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugly_American_(pejorative))
The hard truth is that many Americans have become so self-absorbed that they actually believe America to be a self-sustaining country capable of providing for all its wants, needs and creature comforts. Then, naively, they believe America can accomplish it all with native labor. Such notions are taken for granted. Of course, it is nonsense of dubious origin, including ignorance, lack of exposure to other cultures and propaganda that has become all-pervasive through social media and mainstream media bias.
The reality of the past few weeks has issued a stark wake-up call to many Americans. Only recently (2022), comprehensive legislation to rebuild our neglected manufacturing base failed in Congress. Three years later, we face the realization that America does not in fact have the infrastructure to meet consumers' needs and that global capitalism requires allies and partners across the world to grow, manufacture and trade cooperatively. Yet, some of America’s more arrogant leaders seek to alienate those same allies and partners.
Numerous examples affect most consumers. Agriculturally, America does not have the climate or conditions to commercially and economically produce some of our favorite treats like coffee, tea, chocolate and a multitude of fresh fruits and vegetables, including avocados, bananas, lettuce, tomatoes. These and more must be imported. Our favorite electronics (smartphones, computers) are imported. It also is clear that some manufacturing has become so interconnected across international borders that it is nearly impossible to discern an American-made product from a foreign-made one, an essential calculus for imposing tariffs. Add to this ever-shifting policies and uncertainty, all spectacularly successful in roiling markets and stifling new investments; it’s a recipe for disaster.
In response to the stereotypic ugliness now on display, citizens and nations across the world are calling for boycotts of American goods. Those nations include some of our oldest and previously most treasured allies, from Canada, to Europe, and beyond. One quick Google search nets at least 10 articles from international sources promoting these boycotts, which are on top of the millions of dollars already being lost in tourism. Canadians and other prospective international travelers are cancelling reservations and opting for non-U.S. destinations.
Additionally, international trust of the U.S. has declined precipitously through our own other actions. Invaluable soft diplomacy represented by programs such as USAID has been gutted, with program beneficiaries left to fend without food or health care, or to find other willing benefactors to ease the crises created by America’s abrupt pull-outs. Whether substitute nations will match the previously benign motives of U.S. soft diplomacy (in terms of protecting human rights and not expropriating value from local natural resources) remains to be seen.
We’re being reminded that tariffs imposed upon the colonies ultimately led to the American Revolution. The Stamp Act and the Tea Act helped colonists realize the harmful impacts of lack of representation in the British government. Much later, in 1930, Smoot-Hawley tariffs and protectionism exacerbated the Great Depression, with more harm done. One distinction though is that Smoot-Hawley tariffs were the creation of Congress, as the Constitution requires.
Despite these historical facts, today's pleas for representation and consumer protections appear to fall on deaf ears both in Charleston and in Washington, D.C.
Is it possible to reestablish world trust in the American government in both global diplomacy and trade? Is there still time to regain America’s reputation as a trusted ally? Perhaps following the Golden Rule (as an ethical or religious principle), instead of ugly arrogant, thoughtless and retaliatory treatment of our allies, will be the only path for us to reclaim our seat at the global table.