Free Traders Case For Tariffs

Belk said:

It is not like some are making a concerted effort to understand them.

Click to expand...

We understand them; that's why we call them 'stupid and invalid'.......duh.......

Nithavela said:

He could have done the exact opposite and his followers would still shill it.

Click to expand...

He could have done the exact opposite and his detractors would still shill it.
See, I can do it too...........

Always in His Presence said:

Common sense.

Click to expand...

They've already reduced that to minimal levels to sustain 'life'.

FreeinChrist said:

Guess we will see how this works out.

Click to expand...

Yep, everyone who didn't put everything they had available into the market today are gonna kick themselves......

No one has answered the question:

If Tariffs are bad for the economy, why do over 150 nations have tariffs against the US? Are they trying to ruin their economy?

wing2000 said:

One example - Vietnam

• A new 46% tariff on Vietnam could soon raise costs for major corporations in the apparel, furniture and toy space, and some of them may hike prices for consumers. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/04/02/tru...ld-raise-prices-for-shoes-furniture-toys.html

Click to expand...

OOOOOOOO......the necessities of life.

stevil said:

But on the good side, that money gets funnelled to the wealthy who enjoy tax cuts on their own business dealings.

Click to expand...

So the wealthy don't pay any of those nasty 'import taxes', is that your point?

BPPLEE said:

Looks like he wants to do more to help the middle class and lower income families. I don't think this is feasible though

Trump's Latest Tax Plan: No Tax If You Earn Less Than $150,000 | Bankrate

President Trump wants to slash taxes for people who earn less than $150,000, according to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

www.bankrate.com

Click to expand...

but doing it for the hyper rich is?

FireDragon76 said:

Tariffs hurt ordinary people, not billionaires.

Click to expand...

refer to #107

civilwarbuff said:

Yawn......the same progressive leftist propaganda.....

Click to expand...

except that it's true,trump cuts stuff that help poor and non rich, at same time wants to give tax cuts for about the same for rich.

loveofourlord said:

except that it's true,trump cuts stuff that help poor and non rich, at same time wants to give tax cuts for about the same for rich.

Click to expand...

Your source?......preferably not some leftist propaganda sheet.....

loveofourlord said:

but doing it for the hyper rich is?

Click to expand...

When has he said he wants to eliminate income tax for the rich?

Always in His Presence said:

No one has answered the question:

If Tariffs are bad for the economy, why do over 150 nations have tariffs against the US? Are they trying to ruin their economy?

Click to expand...

Most countries don't just put indiscriminate tariffs on all goods coming from their trading partners.

Historically some countries used tarrifs as a source of funds for government, just like most other taxes.
But because many countries have a Sales tax they don't need to tax imported goods twice, plus they value international trade and so generally broad tarrifs aren't used.

Some countries might specifically target tariffs on things that they want local businesses to produce to protect the local producers who are maybe struggling to compete on price. Countries could put tariffs on imports and/or subsidise local producers. The thought on this though, if local producers aren't able to efficiently produce these products then should the country use tax payers money to falsely create an environment where locals are producing things inefficiently. In this case it comes down to whether the country thinks these things are essential for national security. i.e. if the country goes into war or a global pandemic occurs and trading partners are unable to trade with your country, would your country be able to survive. So on these lines many countries support local farms and orchards, even if that means subsidising them or putting tarrifs on others.

But don't be fooled by what your current government are telling you. They are lying to you. They aren't putting on retaliatory tariffs. Many of the countries that USA are now slopping tariffs onto, aren't themselves putting tariffs onto USA. And certainly aren't putting broad tariffs onto all USA imports. Instead what they are doing is looking at their trade deficits e.g. USA is buying more products from a country than it is selling to that country, and pretending that this deficit is tarrifs that the other country is putting on USA.
So really it's not about tarrifs, it's about a trade deficit. And in response to this USA is putting large tarrifs across the board onto its best and most friendly trading partners, affecting both the USA and the trading partner's economies, creating inflation, creating trade supply problems, and just basically stuffing up international trade with freindly nations. People like Russia, China and many Arab nations are laughing as this is a dream come true for them, the West eating itself, going into Trade wars, Tarrif wars and pretty much stuffing up what makes the West so great, thriving and powerful. Putin couldn't have hoped for anything better than this.

civilwarbuff said:

OOOOOOOO......the necessities of life.

Vietnam cuts import taxes on key goods ahead of US tariff announcement

The quick response from Vietnam has won approval from industry leaders, with some considering the tax cuts as a "swift, positive, and timely" move that showcases Vietnam’s goodwill.

en.vietnamplus.vn

Click to expand...

Your point? Vietnam reduced their tariffs ahead of Trump's proclaimed "Liberation Day" and he still punished the country.

civilwarbuff said:

So the wealthy don't pay any of those nasty 'import taxes', is that your point?

Click to expand...

No, the point is that taxes for consumer goods are a flat tax. And because there are much more poor people that wealthy, this tax is paid for predominantly by the poor. for example if the Government made $1 billion dollars from tariffs, you'd find out that the poorest 50% of the country are probably paying for 90% of the total tariff revenue that to government makes.

And with the tax cuts the government implemented, you would find something like this.
The government is reducing it's income by $1 billion dollars in reduced revenue from taxes. Out of this $1 billion, 90% of that is lost to the top 25% in terms of wealth. and 10% is lost to the bottom 75%.

So basically 900 million more dollars are going to the top 25% rich people and 100 million are going to the bottom 75% poorer people.

I am just making these numbers up, because I don't have time to properly research it, but that is the idea that the for the tax cuts the bulk of it goes to the rich and for the tarrifs the bulk of it is paid by the unrich.

Always in His Presence said:

No one has answered the question:

If Tariffs are bad for the economy, why do over 150 nations have tariffs against the US? Are they trying to ruin their economy?

Click to expand...

Because they - like the USA - use tariffs to protect certain industries (or groups) they consider worth protecting. Hence the term protectionism.

For instance, the US has an average 12% tariff on clothing and sugar imports, 15% on alcohol and 16% tariff on dairy imports. For some specialty or luxury goods - like copper coated cooking ware, cultured pearls or some medical devices - tariffs sit above 100%.

Tariffs are also used to redress what are seen as structural imbalances in trade.

Usually, that's when a certain sector or industry in a particular country enjoys high levels of subsidy from their government. For instance, aluminium out of China, Russia, Belarus and Iran all attract special higher rates of tariffs.

Countries outside of the US do the same. The US has some of the highest subsidies on agricultural production in the world (about ~$30 billion in direct and indirect subsidies in 2023). The US effectively subsidises its farmers at a rate of ~3x that of Australia, ~4x that of Chile and almost 12x that of New Zealand. So other countries apply tariffs to redress the imbalance.

wing2000 said:

Your point? Vietnam reduced their tariffs ahead of Trump's proclaimed "Liberation Day" and he still punished the country.

Click to expand...

They are not in effect yet......not until we collect the money.....

stevil said:

No, the point is that taxes for consumer goods are a flat tax. And because there are much more poor people that wealthy, this tax is paid for predominantly by the poor.

Click to expand...

So you only think there is the 'wealthy and the poor', is that it? SMH at the limited education of the typical progressive leftist.....

Gene2memE said:

The US has some of the highest subsidies on agricultural production in the world (about ~$30 billion in direct and indirect subsidies in 2023). The US effectively subsidises its farmers at a rate of ~3x that of Australia, ~4x that of Chile and almost 12x that of New Zealand.

Click to expand...

your source for this is.....what?

civilwarbuff said:

So you only think there is the 'wealthy and the poor', is that it? SMH at the limited education of the typical progressive leftist.....

Click to expand...

I'm not a progressive leftist. I'm not a progressive, and I'm not a leftist.
And I don't think there is only wealthy and poor.

Did you get anything right in that post? I don't think so.