Not going as planned

The Washington Post reports that US tariffs have failed to deliver the manufacturing boom Trump promised. The Wall Street Journal highlights that tariffs are not being paid by foreigners. Bloomberg finds that the EU is having trouble trading among its own member states, while China’s export-led growth is hampered by domestic challenges. Foreign Affairs outlines how US policy toward China has allowed Beijing economic leverage.

Mentioned publications

Trump’s promised manufacturing boom is a bust so far – David J. Lynch, The Washington Post, January 15, 2026
Lynch offers a reality check on President Trump’s promise that jobs and factories would return in 2025. Instead, US manufacturing employment has declined every month since “Liberation Day” in April.
Americans are the ones paying for tariffs, study finds – Tom Fairless, The Wall Street Journal, January 19, 2026
Fairless highlights new research published by the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a well-regarded German think tank, finding that American consumers and importers bear almost all of the cost of US tariffs — far more than previous estimates suggested.
Europe’s own trade barriers are worse than Trump’s, ECB finds – Jana Randow, Bloomberg, January 14, 2026
Trade frictions across the EU are more onerous than the highest tariff Trump threatened to impose last year, according to research by the European Central Bank.
The new China trade shock is just beginning – Daniel Moss, Bloomberg, January 19, 2026
Moss argues that despite US tariff hikes and fears of decoupling, China's exports continue to thrive. China's economy, however, is struggling with deflation in large swathes, and trade is projected to expand at a slower pace this year.
How America can stop getting played by China – Liza Tobin and Addis Goldman, Foreign Affairs, January 19, 2026
Foreign Affairs contends that US policy toward China has been overly reactive and misaligned with America’s long-term strategic interests, allowing China to exploit economic leverage without delivering political outcomes the US seeks.