Tariffs have their place as a tool. Not all tariff actions are equal in size, scope, purpose and impact. I am sure @ElimiGator knows that.
I anticipate trump will back down on across the board tariffs. That was more campaign rhetoric. But whatever he does will get a lot of visibility and China (and others) are already making plans to retaliate
You didn’t think or say this when they were first enacted by Trump. Not all 76 million+ voters are MAGA. Most are garbage, remember?
How would you know? You know this is an appeal to hypocrisy, don't you? You realize by associating me with a team you are trying to diminish my position as biased (ad hominem). My team colors are red, white and blue. What are yours? Tariffs implemented for the purpose of trade retaliation and national security are different than across the board tariffs for economic nationalism and reduction of trade deficits.
nothing wrong with discussing- some of the posts are as if the sky is falling- to those I say let’s just wait and see
Does anyone have an example of across the board tariffs working in the long term? The closest proxy is Smoot-Hawley which resulted exporter collapse and even more unemployment following the Great Depression. What is being proposed to mitigate the inflation and retaliation that occurs with this strategy?
I would expect him to levy tariffs on everything. He said 'tariffs are the greatest thing ever invented' and campaigned on 60% tariffs on China and 10-20% tariffs on everyone else.
There's also the 1890 McKinley tariffs. Was one of the main drivers of the Panic of 1893, which was to date, I've of the worst recessions in American history. Later surpassed by the Great Depression.
I guess I’d like to better understand why he would propose such an aggressive policy that greatly expands tariffs on China and other trading partners. Is it primarily because he’s deeply concerned about the massive trade deficit? Or do we think it was just campaign rhetoric, and in reality, he’ll stick to more limited and targeted tariffs? I’m legitimately curious and why I started this thread without a total attack on it.
I had a similar discussion with friend prior to election. I asked why it's acceptable for trump to lie about how tariffs work during campaign rallies. He said trump isn't lying and tariffs generate income without us citizens being taxed. This, alas, was the actually lie. My guess is trump was promising a free ride to the ignorant base. The spike in tariff googles after the election may support the ignorance angle. Given his IQ and aversion to reading, it may be the case that he believes this himself.
