What Catholic social teaching says about Trump’s tariffs
On Tuesday, March 4, 2025, the Trump administration is set to impose tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico. In 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term, the United States imposed tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, citing national security concerns. This time, the Trump administration has cited concerns over the Canadian and Mexican governments’ alleged negligence regarding the flow of undocumented immigrants and illicit drugs—particularly fentanyl—into the United States.
Stephen Pitts, S.J., a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Minnesota, studies the causes and consequences of migration from an economic perspective. In a February interview with America, Father Pitts spoke about how the Trump administration’s tariffs align or conflict with the principles of Catholic social teaching.