Executive power to arbitrarily set tariffs, like all executive power, tends to corrupt.

It gives the tariff-maker the power, even on a whim, to impose great financial pain on significant actors who, in turn, have a keen interest in attempting to influence the exercise of that power. How those attempts play out bears careful watching.

When President Donald Trump announced his tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the leading executives of Ford, General Motors and Stellantis were quickly on a conference call with the president. He gave them a temporary reprieve. Mothers facing higher costs for Mexican produce in the supermarket don’t get to phone the president. Arbitrary power favours the rich.