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"America is back," U.S. President Donald Trump declared, opening his first State of the Union speech of his second term. In the longest joint address to Congress in recent U.S. history, Trump boasted about the flurry of actions he had taken in the first six weeks of his return to power.

"We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started," Trump touted.

That statement holds some truth; Trump, as he said in his speech, has signed nearly 100 executive orders and has taken more than 400 executive actions. But will these "swift and unrelenting actions" usher in the "greatest and most successful era" in U.S. history?

Think about tariffs.

Just hours before Trump's address to Congress, the U.S. slapped 25 percent tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and doubled levies on Chinese imports to 20 percent. "Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again," Trump asserted, noting that tariffs will benefit American farmers.

But the reality tells a different story.

To begin with, the integration of global supply chains means American manufacturers will have to pay more for raw materials before production. As a result of the rising costs, American companies, contrary to Trump's simplistic hope of creating more jobs, are highly likely to scale back production, which could eventually result in job cuts.

In addition, it is ordinary American consumers, not foreign companies, who will eventually bear the burden of Trump's tariffs. When Trump imposed tariffs on various imports in 2018, the U.S.-based think tank Tax Foundation found the tariffs were passed almost entirely through to American firms and final consumers, and estimated a net loss to the American economy of $16 billion annually.

As Trump insists on repeating the same old mistake after returning to power, the Peterson Institute has found the total direct cost of import taxes on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese goods represents an extra tax of more than $1,200 per year for a typical American household.

And countermeasures from targeted countries make the situation even worse for the United States. In response to U.S. trade barriers, China, for instance, imposed additional tariffs of up to 15 percent on imports of U.S.-grown chicken, soy, beef, pork and other key farm products.

Still, Trump bragged about the "benefits" tariffs would bring to American farmers. "I love the farmer, who will now be selling into our whole market, the USA because nobody is going to be able to compete with you," Trump said in his State of the Union speech.

Perhaps Trump should at least learn a few key facts before making such a comment: China is the biggest market for American agricultural exports, occupying about 20 percent of the total. While, the U.S. is diversifying its export destinations, but its agriculture and livestock exports to China support more American jobs than any other sector by a wide margin, according to the U.S.-China Business Council.

As President, Trump has the platform to tout the "unstoppable" American Dream that is "bigger and better than ever before." But Trump should also face the reality: His tariffs have put the American economy at risk; his sweeping cuts to the federal government are deepening divisions in American society; and his America First doctrine on the Ukraine crisis and other international affairs is turning peace into an elusive dream.

Trump's American Dream is, in essence, Washington's selfish pursuit of global hegemony. This will not Make America Great Again, but will only Make America Decline.

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