/ Modified jun 7, 2019 3:30 p.m.

Economist: Tariffs ineffective as a political strategy

A discussion with UA economist George Hammond.

Tariffs are part of a strategy from the Trump administration to get a better trade deal with China and curb illegal immigration at the southern border. University of Arizona Eller College of Management economist George Hammond joined Lorraine Rivera in studio to discuss its effectiveness and the consequences it carries.

"We do have legitimate concerns about the way China conducts trade. And those concerns should be pursued. The problem is that tariffs are not the right way to do that. You don't solve one problem by first shooting yourself in the foot," Hammond said.

Hammond also said levying tariffs on Mexico could end up backfiring for the U.S. "It has the potential to damage the Mexican economy. That means less production, less employment there. It could generate more immigration into the U.S. if our policies wind up making Mexico worse off."

Arizona 360
Arizona 360 airs Fridays at 8:30 p.m. on PBS 6 and Saturdays at 8 p.m. on PBS 6 PLUS. See more from Arizona 360.
By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona