Are Tariffs A Good Idea?

[jc456]

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.

who pays for union dues? You want to go there?

 

[candycorn]

And I thought your dear leader was going to lower prices.

Is he working on that?

Well he is. Exporters in other nations will have a surplus of merchandise so supply and demand would dictate that China, Mexico, and Canada (nations we’ve tariffed even though the blob signed trade agreements with them a few years back) will have far lower prices than they had before the blob oozed into office.

 

[candycorn]

The theory is that tariffs on widgets will make foreign widgets more expenseive. Thus the American widget makers could take advantage of the foreign makers having their prices raised.

So we’ve had these tariffs on many items for 8 years now.

Why aren’t American manufactured good cheaper than their foreign counterparts?

Because the American manufacturers are raising their prices too...making great profits (Dow over 40K under President Biden).

 

[AsherN]

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.

What do you think happens? There may be a contracted price between the seller and the importer, fine. But when the goofs come in, the importer pays the tariff to the US Treasury. Applied on that contracted price. it raises the landed cost for those goods. And that increases snowballs all the way to the consumer.

Assume a small supply chain. producer, importer, distributer, retail, consumer. to make a profit, every step adds 25% to their cost.
importer buys for $100, sells to distributer for $125.
Distributer adds 25%, sells to retailer for $156.25
Retailer buys adds $25%, sells to consumer for $195.31.

Now in comes a 25% tariff.
Importer buys for $100, pays $25 tariff. His cost is now $125. Sells to distributer for $156.25
Distributer adds 25%, sells to retailer for $195.31
Retailer adds 25%, sells to consumer for $244.14

The consumer nows pays an additional $48.82.

 

[SaxonJackson]

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.

It appears that I pushed the right button. Kudos to me!!

 

[Zincwarrior]

Stock market has dropped more than 800 points this afternoon.

US Top News and Analysis

CNBC is the world leader in business news and real-time financial market coverage. Find fast, actionable information.

www.cnbc.com

 

[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

Down almost 900 now.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

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.

You do realize that Lincoln Electric is an American Company. Why would their prices be impacted unless they import their equipment or operate overseas?

 

[task0778]

They are not a tax.

Close enough if you ask me. Who gets the revenue from a tariff? The gov't. Who ultimately pays the higher price for the tariffed item? US consumers. Also known as taxpayers. The end result is the same.

If you don't want to pay the tariff, don't buy the Chinese product. Simple.

Sure. I used to buy the tariffed product for less than the US domestic product, but now I don't have that choice. Now I gotta pay more for whichever one I chose, or I can go without, right? That's a cavalier attitude there, my friend. And you know what? The God Damned trade imbalance didn't change. Trump's tariffs during his 1st term didn't reduce that imbalance, in fact it went up. And when China retaliated by raising tariffs on our soybeans, Trump had to subsidize that industry to the tune of around $23 billion.

 

[IM2]

Certainly no worse than Pedo Joe's policies. Only his inflationary policies (and idiocy) did nothing to punish nations that were taking advantage of America. His answer to inflation was to wipe out 100 million chickens. That led to no eggs on the shelves and the price of eggs skyrocketing. Genius!!

Trumps policies are way worse than what Biden did. Apparently, you get all your information from the right because Biden didn't wipe out 100 million chickens. The Avian flu did. Biden got blamed for inflation caused by COVID-19 while trump was given excuses for COVID-19, and his policies were part of the cause for the inflation Biden faced. Trump is ruining this country, and you like the direction we are going.

Sad.

 

[jc456]

The theory is that tariffs on widgets will make foreign widgets more expenseive. Thus the American widget makers could take advantage of the foreign makers having their prices raised.

So we’ve had these tariffs on many items for 8 years now.

Why aren’t American manufactured good cheaper than their foreign counterparts?

Because the American manufacturers are raising their prices too...making great profits (Dow over 40K under President Biden).

union dues and healthcare

 

[jc456]

Trumps policies are way worse than what Biden did. Apparently, you get all your information from the right because Biden didn't wipe out 100 million chickens. The Avian flu did. Biden got blamed for inflation caused by COVID-19 while trump was given excuses for COVID-19, and his policies were part of the cause for the inflation Biden faced. Trump is ruining this country, and you like the direction we are going.

Sad.

the things demofks believe. hilarious. tell us when bird flu started?

 

[IM2]

the things demofks believe. hilarious. tell us when bird flu started?

No. The Avian flu is real.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

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.

Don't buy the tariffed products and buy American. That's the simple solution.

 

[Concerned American]

You do realize that Lincoln Electric is an American Company. Why would their prices be impacted unless they import their equipment or operate overseas?

Lincoln sells more than just welders. Welding hoods most likely come from China. Many other welding products do as well--chipping hammers, brushes, gloves, sleeves, face shields etc.

 

[IM2]

Don't buy the tariffed products and buy American. That's the simple solution.

That will not help because American products use things from tariffed countries.

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

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.

You do not understand tariff! Start over.

 

[Edgetho]

 

[Captain Caveman]

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

This is what you voted for.

How did the tariffs cause the federal workers to lose their jobs?

 

[Admiral Rockwell Tory]

Lincoln sells more than just welders. Welding hoods most likely come from China. Many other welding products do as well--chipping hammers, brushes, gloves, sleeves, face shields etc.

They can purchase American goods for resale. That is the point of tariffs. Make the imported products play on a level playing field.