Increasing tariffs would bring higher inflation and more contraband, says the dean of Economics at the Universidad del Rosario.
“Raising tariffs to protect national industry is a recipe that has always and everywhere increased poverty.” This was stated by Miguel Gómez Martínez, dean of the Faculty of Economics at the Universidad del Rosario, referring to the declarations of the Petro Government in which he proposes using this mechanism to counteract the high level of interest rates.
For the economist, raising tariffs, which are the taxes that must be paid when a good or service is imported into the country, will not improve the situation of the economy.
“What has hit national consumption is inflation, which is a global phenomenon. Stopping the rise in prices is a priority for the purchasing power of citizens to recover. Increasing tariffs will translate into more inflation and more smuggling,” Gómez highlighted.
It is important to bear in mind that the reason why products are imported into the country is because there is not enough local production or because the costs are higher than those registered in other economies.
“The government should focus on improving the country’s productivity. Closing the economy would expose us to retaliation from other countries that would not be willing to accept that Colombia unilaterally make decisions against their interests, ”he warned.
According to the Dean of Economics at the Universidad del Rosario, “in trade wars, the ones who ultimately pay the piper are the citizens, who will have less availability of products and at higher prices.”