Trump's tariff role model

NPR | By Wailin Wong,

Darian Woods, Julia Ritchey, Kate Concannon

Published February 5, 2025 at 9:43 AM EST

President Trump speaks fondly of William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was a strong advocate for tariffs. He's credited with helping to protect the fledgling tinplate industry in the late 19th century. But did the tariff work? We take a closer look at McKinley's tinplate tariff and if it was worth the cost.

Related episodes on tariffs:
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify) Canada's key resource against Trump's possible trade war (Apple / Spotify)
Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious (Apple / Spotify)
Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify)
How Trump's tariff plan might work (Apple / Spotify)
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Apple / Spotify)

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Wailin Wong

Wailin Wong is a long-time business and economics journalist who's reported from a Chilean mountaintop, an embalming fluid factory and lots of places in between. She is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. Previously, she launched and co-hosted two branded podcasts for a software company and covered tech and startups for the Chicago Tribune. Wailin started her career as a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Buenos Aires. In her spare time, she plays violin in one of the oldest community orchestras in the U.S.

Darian Woods

Darian Woods is a reporter and producer for The Indicator from Planet Money. He blends economics, journalism, and an ear for audio to tell stories that explain the global economy. He's reported on the time the world got together and solved a climate crisis, vaccine intellectual property explained through cake baking, and how Kit Kat bars reveal hidden economic forces.

See stories by Darian Woods

Julia Ritchey

Julia Ritchey is an audio journalist with 15 years experience reporting, editing and podcasting all over the country. She's reported from eight states and all four U.S. time zones, most recently at Nashville Public Radio, Tennessee's largest NPR affiliate, overseeing the station's policy, environmental and education beats.

Kate Concannon

Kate Concannon is the Supervising Senior Editor at The Indicator from Planet Money. She leads this small, collaborative team of hosts, reporters and producers in making sense of crucial, but often complex and confusing, economic news in just 10 minutes a day.