What Paul Krugman thinks about tariffs
Trade economist, Nobel laureate in 2008 for his work on economic geography, professor emeritus at Princeton and the CUNY Graduate Center, and a New York Times columnist from 1999 to 2024. Now writes on Substack.
Paul Krugman did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
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11 dated positions, 2026, in their own words. Our reading of what Paul Krugman has said — not written or endorsed by them.
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Their wordsMy basic point — that Trump inherited a relatively benign inflation picture and threw that inheritance away with his tariffs and war — is even clearer from the PPI than the CPI.
↗The Bad News on Inflation Just Keeps Comingpaulkrugman.substack.com
- 1 day earlier
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Their wordsBut there is no question who is responsible for the resurgence in inflation: this is all on Trump, first the tariffs and then then the Iran war.
↗On Inflation, Trump Snatched Defeat from the Jaws of Victorypaulkrugman.substack.com
- 4 weeks earlier
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Their wordsContrary to Trump administration expectations and predictions, there has been no revival of U.S. manufacturing employment, and investment in manufacturing — at least as measured by construction spending — has fallen off a cliff.
↗Why Does Everyone Hate Trump’s Tariffs?paulkrugman.substack.com
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Our readingImport prices have risen under Trump's tariffs, undercutting claims that foreigners would pay them.
Their wordsAnd import prices, even excluding petroleum, have gone up, not down, belying claims that foreigners would pay the tariffs.
↗Why Does Everyone Hate Trump’s Tariffs?paulkrugman.substack.com
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Our readingThe Trump tariffs have not caused a global recession or a 1930s-style spiral into protectionism.
Their wordsHowever, the Trump tariffs haven’t caused a recession, either in the U.S. or globally. Nor have they led to a 1930s-style global spiral into protectionism: Retaliation by other nations against U.S. tariffs has been limited, and there has been hardly any sign of emulation — of other nations deciding to follow Trump’s lead by imposing their own high tariffs on trading partners.
↗Why Does Everyone Hate Trump’s Tariffs?paulkrugman.substack.com
- 7 days earlier
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Their wordsThe point is that large-scale international trade, while it may sometimes serve the cause of peace, can also create the potential for conflict.
- 6 days earlier
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Their wordsAmerica’s large trade deficit in manufactured goods does mean that we have fewer manufacturing jobs than we would if that trade were balanced.
↗Neo-Nazis and the Impotence of Trumponomicspaulkrugman.substack.com
- 6 months earlier
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Their wordsIn fact, the U.S. trade deficit for all of 2025 was about the same as it was in 2024.
↗Attack of the Zombie Tariffspaulkrugman.substack.com 1st of 4 in this piece
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Our readingThe tariffs did not revive American manufacturing; employment in it fell after they were imposed.
Their wordsTrump also claimed that his tariffs would revive American manufacturing. In fact, manufacturing employment has declined since Liberation Day.
↗Attack of the Zombie Tariffspaulkrugman.substack.com 2nd of 4 in this piece
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Their wordsRevenue from the Trump tariffs, even pre-Court, wasn’t enough to make a large dent in the deficit.
↗Attack of the Zombie Tariffspaulkrugman.substack.com 3rd of 4 in this piece
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Their wordsIt has been clear from the beginning that a primary motivation for tariffs was that they empowered Trump personally.
↗Attack of the Zombie Tariffspaulkrugman.substack.com 4th of 4 in this piece