US President Donald Trump’s newly imposed tariffs won’t be able to close Washington’s trade deficit as the huge US spending causes the shortfall and, on top of that, they will lower the country’s competitiveness, renowned American economist and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs told Sputnik.
"If the tariffs are meant to close the US trade deficit, they will fail to do so. The trade deficit is the result of the large US budget deficits, and that will not change with the tariffs," he noted.
Moreover, Trump's newly imposed tariffs will result "in a loss of US living standards," the economist said.
The US budget deficit is currently estimated to be around 7% of GDP.
"If the tariffs are meant ultimately to isolate China, they will also fail. The US does not have the power to break China's trade relations with the rest of the world, though the US would surely like to do so," he emphasized.