Thinking About the Tariffs and the Laffer Curve

Thinking About the Tariffs and the Laffer Curve

At a legendary 1974 Washington dinner, economist Arthur Laffer supposedly sketched his famous curve on a napkin, demonstrating how excessive taxation could reduce government revenue. Now researchers have applied this concept to tariffs, revealing a harsh truth: Even under optimal conditions, additional tariff revenues would peak far short of the amounts claimed by the Trump White House and just a fraction of the $2.4 trillion from federal income…