The Heritage Foundation’s recent internal purge and restructuring, culminating in the departure of several key free-market economists, was a foreseeable consequence of the profound ideological schism laid bare in Chapter 26 of its influential „Project 2025” policy blueprint. This chapter, titled „Trade,” presents a starkly divided vision, effectively housing two contradictory manifestos within a single document. The first half, authored by former Trump advisor Peter Navarro, advocates for a „fair trade” doctrine centered on aggressive tariffs, economic nationalism, and a confrontational stance towards China and multilateral institutions like the WTO. It frames trade primarily as a tool for rebuilding the U.S. manufacturing and defense industrial base, blaming trade deficits and foreign competition for economic weakness. The second half, written by Kent Lassman, presents the traditional conservative „free trade” case, emphasizing consumer benefits, global competitiveness, and the strengthening of alliances through open markets, while warning against the „mission creep” of protectionist policies.
This internal conflict has now been decisively resolved in favor of the Navarro wing, as evidenced by the foundation’s personnel changes. The promotion of Dr. EJ Antoni—a vocal pro-tariff economist—to Chief Economist and acting director of two key institutes, alongside the return of like-minded scholar Peter St. Onge, signals a clear institutional pivot. The remaining economic staff, as tabulated, reflects a leaner team aligned with this new direction, moving away from Heritage’s long-standing libertarian-leaning, free-trade orthodoxy. This shift is characterized by external commentators as a turn toward „populism,” appealing to a base skeptical of globalization, in contrast to groups like the American Action Forum (associated with Mike Pence) which maintain a more traditional „globalist,” pro-trade stance.
The labeling of this protectionist turn as „populist” is itself a point of contention and irony. Economically, tariffs function as a regressive tax, disproportionately raising costs for lower-income consumers. Politically, the assertion runs counter to some polling data, which suggests significant public opposition to broad-based tariffs like those previously implemented. Therefore, Heritage’s transformation represents more than an internal staff reorganization; it is a fundamental re-alignment of a cornerstone conservative institution. It exchanges the principle of market-led global engagement for a state-directed, zero-sum vision of economic competition, betting its influence on the political potency of economic nationalism over both economic theory and, arguably, broader public opinion on the specifics of trade policy.
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Forrás: https://econbrowser.com/archives/2025/12/heritage-foundation-and-the-economics-implosion-foretold.