I get what you guys are trying to do. Intentionally or not
If you’re losing out on my business, you’re not sending me a widget. It’s not costing you anything except your internal production costs. It doesn’t help me pay for a wall or anything else.
I didn’t go to Wal Mart today. Wal Mart didn’t incur some sort of costs by my not going there.
I think what you’re substituting for cash is some sort of pain fantasy you are hoping to impose on Mexico.
Again, they impose tariffs to protect their domestic suppliers.
You guys have been arguing that Tariffs cost them not us. How is that costing their suppliers?
I don't know if this is intentional or not, but you both are completely missing my point. You're stuck on the notion that because the buyer is the one handing over the cash that they are forced to absorb the cost. This isn't true. If it were true, no country would ever use tariffs as an economic weapon.
The only way the domestic suppliers are protected is if it is cost prohibitive for us suppliers to compete. There is no other reason. That is exactly my point. It costs the exporter not the country importing. Not necessarily.
Sure prices will go up temporarily, but only until the market readjusts.
Also, the tariffs will be absorbed somehow because this isn't some perfect thought experiment. There always will be someone somewhere buying from canada or China even with the tariff, but the notion that the buyers are somehow going to eat that cost no matter what is ridiculous. The entire nature of tariffs is that they are used to divert trade value through economic friction (taxation).