Biden embraced Trump’s tariffs. It might be his undoing.

For a third straight month, inflation has been higher than expected, suggesting the Federal Reserve will find it difficult to lower interest rates, which could slow down the economy. And that endangers President Biden’s reelection prospects. Economists are unsure why inflation has persisted. Some of it is a persistent hangover from the pandemic. But some of it could well be that a feature of recent economic policy — of both the Trump and Biden administrations — has been to ask consumers to pay more for goods and services.

Both administrations goosed the economy with large pandemic relief packages, which without question added to inflationary pressures. But beyond those bills, which have by now probably worked their way through the system, there is another possible cause. Donald Trump had few tangible achievements in office. But he can credibly point to breaking with decades of bipartisan economic policy — on tariffs. Trump raised tariffs on China as well as on many of the United States’ closest allies in the West.

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