My new column:

A new report from the U.S. trade representative’s office finds that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Chinese products reduced Americans’ real incomes and depressed investment but didn’t increase manufacturing employment. While China made some changes to its abusive trade practices in response to the tariffs, it “largely took superficial measures aimed at addressing negative perceptions.”

That’s the way it goes in the strange world of trade, where policies can succeed politically not only in spite of, but even because of, their economic failures. . . .