No More Free Rides: How Tariffs Are Restoring American Economic Power

The media elites and globalist bureaucrats are at it again, crying about Trump's tariffs while ignoring the decades of economic warfare waged against the United States. China is flooding our markets with artificially cheap steel and electronics by sending them to Mexico and Canada to be exported to the US exploiting trade loopholes to undercut American industries and we have been sitting idly by. Let's be crystal clear: tariffs aren't just about trade; they're about national security, protecting American jobs, and ensuring we remain the dominant economic force in the world.

For too long, we've been played for suckers by self-serving politicians who sign away American jobs in disastrous trade deals and corporations that chase cheap labor overseas to maximize profits at the expense of the American worker. Our so-called "free trade" agreements have been anything but free for the American worker. Take the auto industry-once a symbol of American manufacturing might. What did our own automakers do? They took their factories, their high-paying jobs, and packed up for Mexico. Thanks to NAFTA and its disastrous successor, USMCA, companies like Ford and GM build cars in Mexico, pay workers a fraction of what they would in the U.S., and then ship those vehicles back tariff-free to sell to American consumers. It's a one-way street, and we've let it happen for decades.

Then there's Canada, our supposed ally, which has the audacity to block American dairy products while flooding our market with their own. And let's not forget Mexico, whose drug cartels have turned fentanyl into a primary export, fueling a crisis that is devastating American communities. While American families suffer, Mexico profits off this destruction caused by these drug cartels, and yet our leaders have done nothing to hold them accountable. That's right-American farmers, the backbone of this nation, are shut out of the Canadian market because their government slaps massive tariffs on U.S. dairy imports. But when Trump moves to level the playing field, the usual suspects-Democrats, the corporate media, and the globalist lobby-cry foul. Enough is enough.

Trump's tariffs are a correction, not a punishment. Just look at the case of Paul Wellborn and his family run cabinet manufacturer, who took the fight to the Chinese cabinetry industry when their artificially cheap imports threatened to wipe out American manufacturers. By organizing the American Kitchen Cabinet Alliance, Wellborn fought to impose anti-dumping tariffs that saved thousands of jobs and revitalized an essential domestic industry. His leadership proves that when America enforces fair trade,

American businesses thrive. A 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports is a signal that we will no longer subsidize their economic gains at our expense. If American automakers want access to our market, they should be building cars here. If Canada wants to trade freely, they should open their markets to American dairy. If China wants to do business with the U.S., they need to stop stealing our intellectual property and manipulating their currency.

This is a battle for economic survival, and Trump understands that better than any leader in modern history. Tariffs are not just about trade-they are about defending the American worker, rebuilding our industrial base, and ensuring that America remains the world's undisputed economic powerhouse.

The free ride is over. With Trump's tariffs, we're putting America First-permanently.

This is about ensuring a future where American industries are no longer beholden to foreign powers rigging the system against us. It's about ensuring that American workers, from Detroit to Ashland, Alabama, are protected, valued, and given the opportunity to compete on a level playing field. With Trump's leadership, America will never bow to unfair trade again-we will dominate, innovate, and lead the world in manufacturing and economic strength.

Perry O Hooper Jr is a former State Representative who writes columns on his political perspective and has been published in a number of publications around Alabama and beyond. He was an early supporter of Donald Trump and was the 2016 Trump Victory Chair.

Opinions expressed in the Alabama Gazette are the opinions and viewpoints of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the Alabama Gazette staff, advertisers, and/ publishers.