Tweet
Quoting:
Tariffs are NOW being paid to the United States by China of 25% on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods & products. These massive payments go directly to the Treasury of the U.S....
-
Quoting:
As Red can explain, tariffs are paid by the US importers, who may or may not pass along the costs to their customers, depending on individual circumstances. They are not paid by the Chinese. Is Trump knowingly or unknowingly BS'ing his audience?Last edited by togor; 05-10-2019, 12:26. -
I think multilateral trade deals can do things that bilateral trade deals cannot. The TPP, for all of the bad press, was designed to be a regional counter to Chinese influence. Right now, Euros can sell beef products to the Japs at a lower tariff than the Americans, even though the Japs really like US corn-fed beef. It's just one example of a bad outcome. Trump figures the guy with the money has leverage, and there is some truth to that, but it's also true that it's a big world out there, and people usually can find options if they look hard enough, and that by pissing trading partners off, Trump is giving people a huge incentive to bypass America in business.
My question for Sako or anyone else is...what makes them think that the government picking winners and losers in the private economy through tariff policy is either A) a conservative thing to do or B) a successful long term strategy?Last edited by togor; 05-12-2019, 04:24.Comment
-
As I recall, during the campaign Pres. Trump conceded that tariffs would be inflationary but claimed the damage would be short term and worth it in the long run. Whether that's true or not remains to be seen, and whether it's a good idea depends on where you sit.
Philosophically tariffs have been associated with liberals and free trade with conservatives. When Bill Clinton was president and signed all of those free trade deals it was a very popular policy with conservatives. This was something the Republicans had pushed for years but had been blocked by the Democrats. The Republicans supported those deals enthusiastically at the time. The idea being that an individual ought to be able to choose items based on quality and price regardless of where it was made. Prior to the Clinton administration tariffs were used selectively to protect specific industries. The tariff's on imported cars, especially from Japan, in the 1970s being an example of the this longstanding U.S. policy.
The problem that reared its ugly head was Clinton era free trade demolished several domestic industries, textiles comes to mind and that is a problem everybody acknowledges, and it does have strategic implications.Last edited by Art; 05-12-2019, 07:54.Comment
-
China entering the WTO wiped out a lot of industries. US business went along with it, telling us that it was great because of the demand of the Chinese market (largely BS), but really wanting access to cheap Chinese labor to squeeze US workers. Trump recognizes the challenge of China, but IMO would have better policies if he was more balanced between business and labor. As it is, Trump sides exclusively with business over workers.Comment
-
This was a follow-up tweet. Does anyone actually believe
it?
The tariffs will be paid by US importers, who might eat some of the cost depending on the market, and customers.Tariffs will bring in FAR MORE wealth to our Country than even a phenomenal deal of the traditional kind. Also, much easier & quicker to do. Our Farmers will do better, faster, and starving nations can now be helped. Waivers on some products will be granted, or go to new source!Comment
-
I have always thought tariffs were a bad idea. BUT, free trade has to be a two way street... For example, if we sell a USA MADE motorcycle to India, there is a 100% tariff. If they sell a bike in America, the tariff is zero... is that “free trade?”
China has been raping us for years. They steal our technology, they routinely violate international trade rules, and previous administrations have looked the other way. Trump is right, our industries can’t compete with products that are made with slave labor and literally no restrictive environmental rules.
China’s economy exists based solely on sales to America. Cut that off and China becomes a disaster of historical proportions. Trump is the first President that has tried to level the playing ground... The Trump haters have no idea on how to fix the problem.Last edited by RED; 05-12-2019, 03:30.Comment
-
Tariffs are not a panacea. If the US market were large enough, if there were not other markets available, China would have to listen closer. As it is, there are lots of nations that will buy from China. Tariffs on select goods will be not so good for US producers or consumers. Tariffs will not undo the movement of various industries off shore seeking less expensive labor. Tariffs will not turn back the hands of time to an era when the US dominated world production ... largely due to the rest of the world still being a smoking mess after the guns of WWII fell silent. At some point US policy will have to embrace a multilateral approach to dealing with China, etc. This will be the case no matter who is in the White House. All the big talk and chest thumping in the world won't change that. Sincerely. bruce." Unlike most conservatives, libs have no problem exploiting dead children and dancing on their graves."Comment
-
To Red's great surprise I'm not going to take issue with what he wrote.
I know Trump wants to solve the intellectual property issue, but I think a snowball has a better chance in hell than an American company would have in a Chinese court over even the most dead-to-rights IP infringement claim. I thought it was a lousy idea to support China's entry into the WTO years ago, and nothing has happened to change my mind. We got 20 years of cheap products, a shot in the arm for corporate earnings, I guess.
But there is no deal you can make with the Chinese that they won't blow off at the first opportunity. Especially when it comes to respecting trade secrets and intellectual property. The same can be said of Russia, BTW. The two big countries where Communism really took root. Trump may be trying to do something about it, but in reality there is nothing you can do except to prevent American companies from sharing tech with China. Tariffs won't do it.Comment
-
So you think we should give up because the sky is falling and poor ol’ USA will just have to continue to compete with a country that cheats us with tariffs that are 2x more than ours, cheap slave labor, and other underhanded tactics. They totally ban the import of a lot of our products with a wave of their hand and a wink of their eye. And that’s okay with the NSDP...
Maybe Trump should hire Obama to go over there and get on his knees with tears in his eyes, beg the Chinese to please, with sugar on it, stop bullying us.Comment
-
Red gets on the board with his first Nazi reference of the month. Way behind Boggs but he's in the game.
No one wrote about giving up. But if we're going to get serious with China then we ought to get real about the way US companies get suckered into technology transfers that backfire in the long run. They give away their secrets in exchange for cheap production.Comment
-
You did:No one wrote about giving up.
So it is impossible that Trumps strategy might work when neither you or the 663 Democrats running for President have no idea, no proposal, nothing, that might work.But there is no deal you can make with the Chinese that they won't blow off at the first opportunity.
Cowards at work.Last edited by RED; 05-13-2019, 02:52.Comment
Comment