Final answer:
Tariffs have been used historically to protect domestic industries but their growth is not necessarily increasing, and their effectiveness in protecting jobs is debated. The WTO works to reduce trade barriers, and protectionism can lead to economic inefficiencies and increased costs for consumers.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that tariffs are common today and still growing in number since they have a long history of successfully protecting jobs in this country is false. While it is true that tariffs are placed on imported goods as a way of protecting sensitive industries, for humanitarian reasons, and for protection against dumping, they can also have negative impacts. In practice, tariffs may provide short-term job protection for specific industries, yet they often come with unintended consequences, such as inefficiencies and increased costs for consumers. Moreover, the role of tariffs has transformed over time, especially with the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which aims to reduce tariffs and other trade barriers globally.
The history of tariffs shows that they initially supported the development of domestic industries by making imported goods more expensive, thereby encouraging the purchase of domestic goods. However, protected industries might not have the incentive to improve and become competitive on an international scale. Not all money from tariffs goes towards saving jobs, and economic efficiency may be lost, which is another form of deadweight loss. This reduction in economic efficiency can harm the overall economy by not allowing it to focus on its comparative advantage—producing what it can most efficiently manufacture.