Letter from Chip Northrup

Trump Tariffs Have Local Impact

I got a double-whammy of Trump’s Tariff Tantrums this week.

First I went to my local drug dealer, CVS, who informed me that my insurance would no longer cover the drug that I’ve been taking for 30 years to help me become a better person by remaining alive. The reason was that my drug is made in India, which now has a Trump Tantrum Tariff of 100 percent on it, and my insurance carrier simply dropped coverage, since the domestically-produced version of the drug just went up to reflect the tariff. I still have a few pills left to make a run to Mexico to score some of the same dope for one third the price.

A few days later, I got a notice from DHL that the auto parts I had ordered from Europe—made only in Europe for a vintage Jaguar—now have a Trump Tantrum Tariff of 50 percent. Up from 15 percent when I bought it.
To all the macroeconomic simpletons who thought that the exporter pays the tariffs or that the importer will magically “eat” the tariffs: “You voted for this.” But not me. I like to stay healthy while driving a vintage car to Mexico.

Chip Northrup
Cooperstown