Investor Steve Eisman, made famous by the 2015 movie “The Big Short,” says that he views President Donald Trump’s current trade and tariff regime as both justified and long overdue.
What Trump Is Trying To Do Is ‘Very Honorable’
Speaking on The Real Eisman Playbook podcast on Tuesday, with CNBC’s Melissa Lee, Eisman reflected on the trade policies of the 1990s, saying that “President Clinton sold NAFTA and China entering the WTO” as something that would improve U.S. economic growth and create jobs.
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While it did improve economic growth, “it destroyed jobs,” Eisman says, adding that Trump’s efforts are all aimed at reversing these job losses.
“I think what President Trump is trying to do, just as a general rule, is very honorable,” he says, while acknowledging that the whole process is “messy.”
Eisman pointed to the latest developments in trade talks, saying, “The EU completely caved. They just caved. Switzerland, as of this morning, is caving. Canada is not caving so fast. Mexico is still negotiating. China is playing games with rare earth metals.”
While the European Union and Canada are important trade partners, he says that “at the end of the day, it's U.S. versus China” and that a “massive trade war" between the two countries would be harmful.
Others Laud Trump’s ‘Tariff Playbook’
Several other prominent experts, investors and analysts have come out in support of Trump’s trade deals and tariff playbook in recent weeks.
This includes Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC’s Mad Money, who recently hailed the “trade deal wins” with the EU and Japan, saying, “Our country ran the table on both.” Cramer notes the EU’s commitment to buy $750 billion in U.S. energy products, which he says will “box out Russia” even after the war in Ukraine ends.
Investor and television personality, Kevin O’Leary, AKA “Mr. Wonderful,” referred to the tariffs as a strategic response to global trade imbalances. O’Leary also said, “Trump can be very pragmatic at times,” referring to his trade and tariff strategy.
However, experts believe that Trump’s tariffs are unlikely to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. According to Sarah House, a Senior Economist at Wells Fargo, “a meaningful increase in factory jobs does not appear likely in the foreseeable future.”
The bank goes on to state that even if every unemployed American were hired tomorrow, the labor force would still be short by over 14 million people.
“Returning U.S. manufacturing employment to a level that remotely resembles its historical peak will be an uphill battle,” it concludes.
Photo Courtesy: Joey Sussman on Shutterstock.com
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