"This is Trump's Economy, Two Years In" by Lydia DePillis opens up talking about how economic policy decisions of the first half of his term accelerated growth in 2018 but that momentum is slowly decreasing as the country moves forward. His policy "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017" gave stock buybacks to shareholders and the tax cuts added .8% to gross domestic product in 2018. This tax incentive is a form of mercantilism policy and persuades American Businesses to stay in the US rather than go to foreign nations. While many countries struggled in the economic sphere, the US did not and it was because of these policies. President Trump's tariffs have benefited US steel producers while the China, Canada, and European Union has suffered. This connects to economic nationalism which is an attempt to create, bolster, and protect national economies in the context of world markets. President Trump has been acting in an America First mindset and his policies are attempting to persuade US businesses to use US products.
While there was good to these policies, President Trump's Trade Policies has caused a roller coaster in international markets. The costs of tariffs due to President Trump's economic policy applies to nearly $300 billion in US imports and oxford economics estimates that the tariffs shaved .1-.2% off of growth in 2018. It is also important to note that small business CEOs have stated that tariffs have had a negative impact, while only 4% have said they have benefited from them. The concept of tariffs applies to mercantilism because in this school of thought, the government is attempting to sustain its wealth and power rather than let it go to other countries and tries to maximize exports and minimize imports. Lastly, under President trump's tenure, foreign direct investment in the US dropped in 2017 which goes to show that foreign business are less interested in building factories and buying companies in the United States. This connects to mercantilism also because in this school of thought, you only engage in international trade if the trade achieves the best interests of the respective states in terms of wealth and power. And due to US policies, this form of international trade does not benefit them. This concept can also be linked to the mercantilism policy of investment restrictions which is restricting foreign ownership of national interests.