As tariffs rattle the markets and unsettle longtime U.S. allies, several Hillsdale professors say they support President Trump’s plan to tax imports.

“Only nations that make things are truly and durably wealthy,” Professor of Politics and Director of American Studies Kevin Portteus said. “Only nations that make things can adequately defend themselves.”

On April 9, Trump raised China’s tariffs to 125% while announcing a 90-day pause on higher tariffs on most countries and maintaining the 10% baseline tariffs announced April 2, according to AP News. Since early March, Trump has imposed tariffs on autos and auto parts, aluminum and steel, and other imported items, leading to retaliatory international tariffs and large fluctuations in the stock market.

Though Trump’s tariff plan may cause some short-term economic pain, Portteus said, the tariffs will increase American wages and promote the overall well-being of the nation long-term.

According to Portteus, the tariff plan will give American workers a chance to compete on the global playing field for a living wage. 

“‘Free trade’ means that American workers have to compete in a global labor market against the most poorly compensated labor on earth,” Portteus said. “American workers will lose every time and have been losing for decades.”

Portteus said this unequal playing field has unsustainably benefited those at the top at the expense of everyone else.

“What we’re doing isn’t working for the working and middle classes,” he said. “The only people who are getting ahead in this country are the people at the top, and a pyramid-shaped socioeconomic structure is not a recipe for a healthy society or social stability.”

According to Portteus, the tariffs will strengthen American national security.

“We can hardly make a bullet in this country; we’re a net importer of nitrocellulose,” Portteus said. “The vast majority of our antibiotics are made in China. This is unsustainable.”

According to Professor of History and the Van Andel Graduate School of Statesmanship Paul Rahe, weaknesses in national security result from policies that have prioritized low prices over political strength.

“We’ve had a kind of utopia for the consumer,” Rahe said. “This has been a great period, but at the price of becoming militarily vulnerable.”

Rahe said tariffs on China, a major geopolitical opponent, could possibly give the U.S. a strategic advantage.

“Tariffs on China are aimed at exclusion,” Rahe said. “What’s the point of exclusion? We are China’s biggest market. We have leverage, or so we think — we’ll see — and if you want to prevent them from making a strategic move against Taiwan, show them the price.”

According to Rahe, tariffs could exploit weaknesses in the Chinese economy, including a housing recession and a demographic collapse.

“They’re economically in some trouble,” he said.

Professor of Politics Thomas West said the tariffs are especially important for sourcing parts for advanced weaponry.

“A nation that cannot manufacture its own arms cannot long be free,” West said. “Advanced weapons are no longer produced in the U.S. without high-tech parts imported from China. Tariffs can change that.”

According to West, tariffs have long played a role in American industry and economic growth.

“In 1789, America had little industry,” West said. “The first law passed was a tariff act. Congress said its purpose was “encouragement and protection of manufacturers.” 

West said these tariffs successfully protected manufacturing and benefited the American economy as a whole.

“The average tariff between the Founding and 1910 was about 20 percent,” West said. “During that period we became the wealthiest nation in world history.”

According to West, Trump’s tariffs are necessary to restore this economic growth.

“After 1990, the U.S. lost much of its domestic manufacturing,” West said. “Taxing imports raises their prices and makes U.S. producers more competitive. Domestic output will grow rapidly.”

According to Rahe, tariffs also have historical precedent for paying off the national debt.

How did we pay off the debt from the American revolution?” Rahe said. “The answer is tariffs.”