Trading on Fear: A Theological Reflection on Tariffs, Isolationism, and Economic Justice

President Trump’s reimposition and expansion of sweeping tariffs, framed as a bold step toward American sovereignty, is anything but economically neutral. At face value, these policies are about trade, but beneath the surface, they are also about borders, belonging, and belief. From a theological vantage point, this latest pivot toward protectionism invites deeper scrutiny. What kind of moral world is imagined by such policies, and whose flourishing is prioritised or sacrificed in their wake?

Isolationism and Autarky: Is Economic Eden an Illusion?

The impulse behind Trump’s tariff policies is, in many ways, theological at heart: the pursuit of a self-sustaining economic Eden, untouched by foreign entanglement. It is the age-old temptation of autarky—economic self-sufficiency—as a path to security. Yet Christian theology has long warned against such illusions. The body of Christ is interdependent by design. 1 Cor. 12 insists that no part can say to another, ‘I have no need of you.’ 

Economic isolationism—though often clothed in the rhetoric of sovereignty—can be a form of national idolatry. It sanctifies the border, places the nation at the moral centre, and imagines the foreigner as a threat rather than a neighbour. Theologically, this raises uncomfortable questions about the kind of kingdom we are seeking to build.

Moral Geography: Who Counts as ‘Us’?

Tariffs to some degree are acts of moral cartography. They redraw lines of economic trust and value. By privileging American-made goods and punishing imports, they reconfigure the moral geography of trade; deciding whose labour is worthy, whose suffering is acceptable, and whose economies are disposable.

The consequences are not abstract. Nations across Southeast Asia (such as Bangladesh, Vietnam, Cambodia) stand to lose jobs and stability under the weight of American protectionism. Many of these economies are lifelines for workers, especially women, in low-income communities. A theology that recognises the image of God in every worker cannot afford to ignore these global shockwaves.

Economic Ethics: When Does Protection Harm the Poor?

Even within the U.S., the ethical cost is steep. Tariffs operate as hidden taxes, pushing up prices on everyday goods. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 73% of Americans expect rising costs, with disproportionate effects on lower-income households who spend more of their income on food, clothing, and household essentials.

In biblical terms, this raises the charge of unjust weights and measures (Lev. 19:35-36; Am. 8:5-6). When the poorest are the most burdened by economic policy, we must ask: Whose justice is being served? And can a policy be truly patriotic if it harms the most vulnerable within the household?

Differential Impact: When does Policy Become Unjust? 

Justice is never abstract. It is particular, embodied, and contextual. Tariff policy, like all economic decisions, lands unevenly. Some American manufacturers may benefit, but industries reliant on global supply chains, such as electronics and agriculture may face job losses and retaliatory tariffs. Meanwhile, farmers exporting to China or Latin America may find their markets evaporating overnight, as happened during the last trade war.

The principle of preferential concern for the poor demands that we examine not just the macroeconomic intent but the microeconomic outcomes. If policy creates winners and losers, we are compelled to ask if the ‘losers’ are those who can least afford to lose.

The Kingdom Economy: Can we go Beyond Zero-Sum Thinking?

At its heart, the gospel offers a radically different vision of economy; one grounded not in scarcity and competition but in abundance and shared flourishing. Jesus’ economics subverts zero-sum thinking: five loaves feed thousands, the prodigal is welcomed home with a feast, and the labourers in the vineyard are all paid regardless of hours worked.

Trump’s tariff strategy, like many nationalist economic policies, is premised on the myth that flourishing is a competition. But kingdom economics insists that justice is not a pie to be hoarded. The more we share, the more there is. Isolationism, then, is not just an economic miscalculation but a theological error.

Toward a Global Ethics of Trade 

Christians are called to love their neighbour, not just the one who looks, lives, or votes like them. In a global economy, our neighbours include factory workers in Dhaka, coffee farmers in Honduras, and iPhone assemblers in Shenzhen. Tariff policies that ignore their dignity, or use their hardship as leverage, fall short of gospel justice.

A theological response to Trump’s tariffs must resist easy binaries (protection vs. globalism, national interest vs. moral idealism) and instead ask deeper questions such as whether this policy love the poor, promotes peace, or builds the kind of world Jesus would recognise as just?

If it does not, then perhaps it is not protection, but idolatry.