'Stifling innovation': Red state newspaper bashes Trump policies in scathing editorial

An editorial published Sunday by Omaha World Herald, a Nebraska-based newspaper, argued that President Donald Trump's tariffs hurt the state's economy, saying that Nebraska’s entrepreneurs and shoppers thrive without trade obstacles imposed by the government.

It maintained that they need minimal restrictions on trade — whether within the country or across borders — as well as a steady and predictable economic environment, which encourages businesses to plan ahead and expand.

The newspaper noted that when governments, whether foreign or domestic, impose trade obstacles, they tend to cause more problems than they solve.

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The editorial endorsed Rep. Don Bacon's (R-N.E.) comments in a recent interview to the newspaper in which he said, "Free trade gives you the best products at the best prices in the most efficient manner."

"The U.S. government, in the wake of President Donald Trump's so-called Liberation Day tariffs, has put up new trade barriers and created a chaotic, impossible-to-predict economic landscape where high-stakes national policies change by the day and sometimes by the hour, keeping businesses guessing and stifling innovation," the newspaper said.

"The government's approach to tariffs has been a good deal more on the rails in recent weeks, thanks to the Trump administration's decisions to roll back some of its most extreme tariffs, and to exempt a host of products from many of the tariffs still in place," the editorial argues.

"Still, the level of tariffs in place — including a baseline 10% tariff on goods imported from virtually every country on Earth — is a weight on the shoulders of Nebraska businesses and consumers."

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The editorial further suggested that, overall, the international trade court's decision against the tariffs is likely a positive development for Nebraska’s businesses, farmers, and consumers.

While the ruling doesn’t prevent the U.S. government from imposing tariffs, the newspaper noted, it does block the use of a weak emergency justification to introduce drastic and abrupt policy shifts.

"Here's to hoping that the ruling, coupled with pressure from financial markets and at least some pressure from Congress, helps put U.S. trade policy on a stable path that benefits Nebraskans," the editorial said.

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