Are Tariffs A Good Idea?

[Concerned American]

Beg me more.

Your refusal to respond to your hypocrisy speaks volumes. 'Nuff said. LMAO

 

[Concerned American]

Oh, I don't think so. If I'm not mistaken, the president can prevent foreign ownership of just about anything on grounds of national security. Foreign countries can accumulate US dollars but they can't takeover anything unless our gov't allows it.

Dance around it any way you want, but trade imbalances are the main reason for tariffs.

 

[task0778]

There is a yin/yang to it all. No doubt some prices will be higher with tariffs but there are a good number of other things where the prices won't be going up and may, in fact, come down in a variety of ways, such as cheaper energy costs and less illegals forcing prices up. What a lot of people don't seem to understand is that Trump put tariffs on in his first term and, generally speaking, prices did NOT go up.

The 2018-19 tariffs increased prices for both imported and domestically produced goods.

The tariffs required U.S. companies to pay an additional fee to import many foreign goods. Some companies passed on these fees to consumers by raising retail prices. Domestic producers responded by raising the prices of their own goods, which became artificially more competitive.

The U.S. International Trade Commission found that in 2021, the tariffs increased prices between 1.7% and 7.1% in the ten most affected sectors. These include apparel, car parts, furniture, and computer equipment.

Fact Check: Did the Trump tariffs lower prices for American consumers? | Econofact

econofact.org

I do not know how truthful this is, but it's hard to see how a tariff on anything doesn't raise the price of the affected product or materials to consumers. Likewise, how does tariffs on anything lead to lower energy prices? Correlation does not prove causation.

 

[okfine]

Your refusal to respond to your hypocrisy speaks volumes. 'Nuff said. LMAO

Whiner. Beg me more and maybe, just maybe I'll tell you. Maybe.

 

[task0778]

Dance around it any way you want, but trade imbalances are the main reason for tariffs.

So you think a disguised tax hike that American consumers will pay for when they purchase the affected products or materials is a good thing? We end up with less imports but also less exports, BFD. Great, except the standard of living drops for many Americans on the bottom half of the income ladder, but by God we addressed the trade imbalances.

 

[Delldude]

So I'm not too sure tariffs are going to be a good idea. At least not from my perspective.

In many cases, Trump is evening the playing field with country's that charge higher tariffs on our products than we do to their imports.

EU in particular and they're freaking out.

That's a crock in my book.

 

[AsherN]

Country X exports some “stuff” for which there is a demand in America. The government of Country X heavily subsidizes that industry. So, we impose a tariff on its import into America.

The U.S. businesses which make use of that “stuff” pay that tariff. Those businesses pass the higher cost thereof on to the ultimate consumers. It’s a hidden tax on the American people.

In that view, tariffs aren’t a good way to go. For us.

On the other hand, that higher cost might make it possible for American producers of the “stuff” to fairly compete with the foreign nation (and it’s unfair subsidies). That could yield more jobs at home.

That's the thing. If you have an industry that produces widgets, but country X is dumping widgets in your country cheaper, putting a tariff on widgets from country X to bring the landed cost in line with your cost is good. But putting a blanket tariff on everything imported from a country, regardless of you being able to produce those products is just dumb.
And the argument of "then we'll start making it here" does not work. It takes years and a lot of $$ to ramp up a new industry. Nobody is going to invest that much when those tariffs can be gone in 4 years.

Trade between 2 countries is never a zero sum game. Just look at the Canada-US trade. Canada is roughly 10% of the size of the US. There is no way we can buy as much from you as you can from us.

 

[sparky]

this fits here>>>>

List of countries by tariff rate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

~S~

 

[jc456]

As the governor of Virginia told the federal workers who were recently laid off.

This is what you voted for.

maybe they didn't vote for it because they knew the consequences. I love it.

 

[jc456]

this fits here>>>>

List of countries by tariff rate - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

~S~

It is amazing the purposeful play stupid by demofks. I know they are born logically stupid, one needs to be stupid to vote for someone to control your life, but still even with all that, you'd think they'd at least look it up once? I don't think they can survive much longer.

 

[Independent thinker]

The 2018-19 tariffs increased prices for both imported and domestically produced goods.

The tariffs required U.S. companies to pay an additional fee to import many foreign goods. Some companies passed on these fees to consumers by raising retail prices. Domestic producers responded by raising the prices of their own goods, which became artificially more competitive.

The U.S. International Trade Commission found that in 2021, the tariffs increased prices between 1.7% and 7.1% in the ten most affected sectors. These include apparel, car parts, furniture, and computer equipment.

Fact Check: Did the Trump tariffs lower prices for American consumers? | Econofact

econofact.org

I do not know how truthful this is, but it's hard to see how a tariff on anything doesn't raise the price of the affected product or materials to consumers. Likewise, how does tariffs on anything lead to lower energy prices? Correlation does not prove causation.

Inflation was stuck in neutral, about 2%-3% during Trump's first term. Overall, prices did not increase.

 

[Concerned American]

So you think a disguised tax hike that American consumers will pay for when they purchase the affected products or materials is a good thing? We end up with less imports but also less exports, BFD. Great, except the standard of living drops for many Americans on the bottom half of the income ladder, but by God we addressed the trade imbalances.

Tariffs are designed to discourage the purchase of underpriced foreign goods. They are not a tax. If you want the unfairly priced import, you can pay the going rate for a similar American made product. (Doubling the minimum wage is great, ain't it). If you don't want to pay the tariff, don't buy the Chinese product. Simple.

 

[jc456]

Tariffs are designed to discourage the purchase of underpriced foreign goods. They are not a tax. If you want the unfairly priced import, you can pay the going rate for a similar American made product. (Doubling the minimum wage is great, ain't it). If you don't want to pay the tariff, don't buy the Chinese product. Simple.

Nor are customers paying anything when they purchase the product. The company pays the fee. It's a custom fee to enter the country. It isn't a per piece price. It seems as usual, the fake mainstream media scares at the directive of the elites.

 

[sparky]

perhaps the Q to ask is, why does the USofA have low tariff rates ? ~S~

 

[jc456]

perhaps the Q to ask is, why does the USofA have low tariff rates ? ~S~

look at the marshall plan, it's been that way since day one after WWII

 

[Concerned American]

Nor are customers paying anything when they purchase the product. The company pays the fee. It's a custom fee to enter the country. It isn't a per piece price. It seems as usual, the fake mainstream media scares at the directive of the elites.

No doubt about it, the consumer pays the tariff as the higher cost is always passed on, otherwise the tariffs would not have the deterring effect.

 

[berg80]

Dow falls 700 points as Trump confirms Mexico and Canada tariffs to start Tuesday:​

https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/02/stock-futures-rise-slightly-in-overnight-trading-as-investors-await-tariff-news-live-updates.html

 

[candycorn]

For the most part, I'm a Trump supporter and am generally happy with the direction he's taking the country. It's too soon to know what the long term effects of his executive orders and policies will be but I'm very happy with DOGE and very happy with sending illegals back to their crapholes.

By the same token, I believe in transparency and calling a spade a spade. I started out by saying that "for the most part" I'm happy with Trump but everyone has their flaws and/or weaknesses. I'm still on the fence where Tariffs are concerned. I sell welding supplies, gases, and equipment for a living. I just received this message from Lincoln Electric (a major manufacturer of welding machines and filler metals):

"February 12, 2025

Dear Valued Customer,
Thank you for your continued business and support of Lincoln Electric. We advised you in our December 5th, 2024 letter that we would continue to monitor the effects of potential tariffs and, if necessary, we would implement tariff-related price adjustments with short notice. As you are aware, the U.S. Government imposed additional tariffs on China that went into effect on February 4, 2025.
These short-notice tariff-related increases have had a dramatic impact on the input cost of many Lincoln Electric products. As a result, we will be implementing price increases on affected Lincoln Electric products. The affected product categories at this time are helmets, accessories, expendables and parts. Pricing for these products will increase by ten percent (10%).
In addition, effective February 12, 2025, the price for all Lincoln Electric products, including consumables and equipment, will be the price at the time of shipment. The prices on Lincoln Electric Order Acknowledgements dated on or after February 12, 2025, will be subject to change until the date of shipment.
We are working to mitigate changes while ensuring we continue to provide uninterrupted service and support to you and your customers. We will continue to monitor the volatile tariff dynamics closely and implement additional changes as necessary.
Distributor-specific price files will be available via the On-Demand Price File request tool on your 'My Lincoln' account by Thursday, February 13th, 2025.
Thank you for your continued support and understanding during these turbulent times. If you have any questions, please reach out to your local Lincoln representative.
Sincerely,

Albert L. Castillo
Vice President - Sales & Marketing, Americas"

Of course, this will translate into higher prices for my customers. A 5% or 10% increase on a $5000.00 or $12,000.00 or $20,000.00 welding machine is pretty significant. So I'm not too sure tariffs are going to be a good idea. At least not from my perspective.

The only thing that he could do to please me would be to send you back to your crap hole.

Perhaps you can tell your blob who pays tariffs. He doesn’t seem to know.

 

[jc456]

No doubt about it, the consumer pays the tariff as the higher cost is always passed on, otherwise the tariffs would not have the deterring effect.

nope, not on the product coming into the country, maybe later because of what the company loses in fees, but that isn't what happens coming into the country. There is a contracted price.

 

[AsherN]

Tariffs are designed to discourage the purchase of underpriced foreign goods. They are not a tax. If you want the unfairly priced import, you can pay the going rate for a similar American made product. (Doubling the minimum wage is great, ain't it). If you don't want to pay the tariff, don't buy the Chinese product. Simple.

And that works well when there is an equivalent US product. But Trump is talking about a tariff on everything. It is a tax. It happens to be paid at the start of the distribution chain.