Charlottesville, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Economist Dr. Ed T. Burton joined Morning News to offer his take on the state of the U.S. economy, warning of a looming recession and criticizing the Trump administration’s tariff policies. Reacting to the president’s recent comments defending a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, Dr. Burton made it clear that he opposes such measures. “I actually think China has done right by us. We’ve been the winners in the China U.S. trade thing for a long time. The mistake we made was we didn’t compensate the losers in our economy,” he said, referring to workers impacted by trade shifts in industries like textiles and manufacturing. 

While he acknowledged the administration’s rationale for tariffs, Dr. Burton emphasized the broader economic harm. “Blocking trade from an economy that’s as large as ours… we should be partners, not enemies,” he stated, stressing the need to resume international trade and warning that significant damage has already been done. He also cited new data showing slowing job growth and a surprise GDP contraction as further signs of economic trouble. 

Despite the current economic turbulence, Dr. Edwin Burton expressed cautious optimism about the years ahead. He believes that if the administration walks back its tariff policies soon, recovery is possible. “Trump is nothing if not a survivor. He will see that his survival depends on getting rid of these things,” Burton said. Looking further ahead, he predicted improvement beyond the downturn: “I think the future looks bright,” he added, suggesting 2026 could mark a rebound if corrective steps are taken now. 

Listen to the full conversation here: