donald trump consulting experts of what to tariffs to charge China
Allan
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Crazy that Trump supporters still think he has any sort of a long term plan when it comes to tariffs. He just bumbles from one stream of consciousness to the next.
Ya gotta understand . . .
For Donald Trump “from one day to the next” -IS- a long term plan. (LOL)
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Todays news is good and the 90 day temporary reduction should be commended.
My next question is if tariffs are expected to reduce further how does this square with Trumps original goal for tariffs which was bringing manufacturing back to the US and eliminating the deficit? Or are these now forgotten?
Trump’s METHOD has been almost exactly the opposite of what it should have been.
Ratcheting tariffs UP (not starting high and negotiating down, not speghetti to the wall) would give existing and soon-to-start businesses the ability (clarity) to say
- “Well, starting soon, tariffs are going up and they are going to go higher and they are going to stay high. I had better look for a new supplier. Hmm, maybe Thailand, maybe the US.”
What they have to say now is
- "Well I could start a US supply chain, but I don’t know if tariffs will still be high next month, next year. Maybe they will be low. Maybe they will be gone. I don’t know. I had better wait.
Agreed.
And also, 30% is still a wicked high tariff that is going to cost american jobs and create inflation.
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I look at it this way. Since 2019 tariffs were about 20% on each side (US on China imports, China on US imports). Now China has a 10% tariff on US imports and the US has a 30% tariff on China.
So, China (who per capita doesn’t import much from the US - 7.1% of US exports in 2024) can now buy American goods for 10% less (50% tariff reduction) than before. America, of which 14% of imports come from China, will now pay 10% more (50% increase in tariffs). Those tariffs aren’t nearly enough to bring manufacturing back.
So, China pays less for American products they weren’t buying in the first place and Americans pay more for Chinese products they were already buying. All while not doing a thing to create jobs.
Wow you are really looking at that funny.
The “10% less,” didn’t used to go to the moon or anything.
Tariffs are a tax and they work just like any tax.
I don’t know if China runs an annual deficit, but the US does.
In 2024 we imported $4.1 trillion.
A 10% tariff on that is roughly $410 billion.
- Either we borrow that $410 and then send the bill to US workers & industry
or - Consumers of foreign goods pay that themselves.
(No more free rides.)
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Should not be commended. He set the fire… then partially put the fire out and he should be commended for that?
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No that is very true and was one of the points I was trying to make (badly).
Trump definitely created the bigger problem several weeks ago. But I am glad to see some of that being resolved.
What positive impact will a 10% increase in tax/tariffs on Chinese imports have on America?
What positive impact will a 10% decrease on tax/tariffs on American exports have?
Will China start buying significantly more American products? They weren’t when tariffs were lower. Will Americans buy less Chinese products and will that lead to more American jobs? Is a 10% increase in tariffs enough to overcome Chinese minimum wages that max out at $3.70, enticing manufacturers to pay American workers? Will a 10% increase in tariffs have an impact on the deficit?
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I don’t mond changing the topic away from your previous statement
(which was “China . . . can now buy American goods for 10% less”)
but I feel compelled to point out that is what you are doing.
Now, with that out of the way I wll address your post shortly. . .
A 10% tariff on all goods and all serices from all countries would worlout to about $410b in annula deficit reduction. (Tariffs are a tax. Just like any tax they reduce deficits, raise prices, get pased on to consumers etc.)
It returns the supply curve back down and to the right.
Probably not. More likely they will get their wheat from Canada, their soybeans from Brazeil . . . and then whomever was goign to buy Canadian wheat and Brazilian soybeans will now buy ours/
We are in the driver’s seat here in a number of ways. Among them, the goods we sell to China are fungible. When China stops buying our (fungible) goods, someone else does.
Not sure I follow. If something costs a dollar and you place a 20% tax/tariff you pay $1.20. If that is decreased to 10% you pay $1.10. (1.20-1.10)/1.20 is 8.3%. I rounded up, I admit. Still, would an 8.3% decrease in cost to Chinese consumers lead to significantly more purchases of American imports?
Well (back to the previous topic)
in your original post you conflated “China” with “Chinese consumers.”
Agreed. A tax on Americans. This notion that tariffs will “make America rich” is ingenuous at best. The money making America rich is from Americans. If the point is to take one for the team, pay more taxes and reduce the deficit, I’m all for it. Just raise taxes and don’t try to hide it as a tariff which is the narrative we continuously hear.
Lots of ifs. If those countries are satisfied with the tariffs imposed on them by the US compared to other producers. When a deal is made with Canada and Mexico then we’ll have an idea.
I suppose. When discussing imports/exports, unless government purchases are the majority, I equate individual consumers and businesses with the country as a whole.
Oh I don;t think he’s hiding it as tariffs.
He has been completely unsecret and limelight-seeking about this whole thing. Heck I think half the reaosn he changes his mind so often is because he wants another excuse to get on camera.
That said,
tariffs are better than deficits.
tariffs are better than many of our current taxes.
Whether he enacts tariffs to reduce the deficit,
or enacts them to repeal taxes on tips and taxes on overtime and etc., either one is an improvement.
