10 Comments

I am not a tariff man but they can be used as a temporary or short term (2-4 years) to correct imbalances that have been built by poor American regulations and/or poor management by American companies. As much as I would like to believe in frees d fair competition that rewards the consumer I know that some countries subsidies prevent that. Their practices cause long term harm to us. Tariffs are one tool to encourage fair international competition and better domestic development where we have a strategic advantage, interest, and need.

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Hal should have mentioned that Trump’s real purpose for the tariff is to prevent the purchase of foreign-made goods so that people or firms will buy domestically made goods. In this case, the American consumer is still paying the tariff at higher prices. The idea is to allow American companies to sell products at higher, non-competitive prices to “save jobs.”

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Mr. Hardy’s point is well taken and self evident. Trump, however, defends his tariffs by talking about all the money the tariffs will bring to America.

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Here is a good WSJ video on tariffs https://cafehayek.com/

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I don’t disagree with your general premise that tariffs are ultimately a burden on importers. Sometimes those importers however are subsidiaries of the foreign manufacturers, so maybe not accurately described as fully “American.” Also I think your article should have discussed why the Biden administration has continued much if not most of the previous Trump tariffs. The Biden administration has also used tariffs to prevent the Chinese from dumping their EVs into the US. “Free trade” needs some guardrails. Btw I’m not a Trump supporter.

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I love it when someone wants to sell me something at a very low price (dump).

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Dude, think about it this way. When you build a house, you need tools. Not just a hammer, nor a screwdriver, nor a nail. You need a plethora of tools to get the job done. Tariffs are only a tool. That’s as simple as I can make it for you.

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What Job?

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Thank you

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China will pay the tariffs like Mexico will pay for the wall. Refinements of economic theory aside (and they are necessary) Trump's tariff talk is not economics but macho bravado. He wants to sound "tough on China" to "do something" against our competitor. Hal's analysis is right. For an interesting read, consider the debates about tariffs in the First Congress convened under our present Constitution in 1789. (Gales and Seaton, _The Debates and Proceedings in the Congress of the United States_, 1825-1837.) Good perspective. Graduated income taxes are more flexible and more direct than tariffs.

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