How do tariffs bring costs down?

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Another claim of trump is that he will levy a tariff on Chinese imports (I think north of 50%) and other countries at 25%. I think we’d all agree that anyone selling those products will pass the cost onto the consumer- which raises prices.

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Pretty sure he’s calling for reciprocal tariffs, specifically as a way to force those countries to lower their tariffs. And sellers will only pass those costs along if people are willing to pay it. If an alternative exists that isn’t subject to tariff, they’ll likely just buy that.

If addition, he discussed tariffs as a way to replace income tax. In totality what would all this mean, that’s unclear.

Biden/Harris are saying Trump will raise tariffs, but it’s already happened and they didn’t do anything to change it
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/comparing-new-and-current-u-s-tariffs-on-chinese-imports/


“U.S. Announces New Tariffs On A Range of Chinese Goods
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

This week, the U.S. introduced a new series of tariff increases on Chinese imports, amounting to over $18 billion worth of goods.

In the announcement, President Biden said they are aiming to “counter China’s unfair trade practices” by targeting specific sectors where the U.S. is boosting domestic production.

This graphic shows the new and current U.S. tariff rates set on a variety of Chinese imports.

Tariff rates and implementation years for the new rates come from The White House’s May 14 press release announcing the new tariff rate increases. Implementation years for the current rates comes from the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and United States International Trade Commission (USITC).

Tariff Raises on China Hit EV and Medical Industries
Below, we show the current and new tariff rates, as well as the implementation years for both, for a range of Chinese imports, as of May 14, 2024.”

It stimulates the supply side by creating production opportunities for American companies. It puts them on more equal footing with other countries that don't have our burdensome regulations and generates alternatives to taxing Americans.

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zero income taxes

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That is the dumbest idea I ever heard of.

Trump uses the threat of tariffs to negotiate better trade deals with other countries. Countries like China floods the market with cheap products to gain market share and destroy competition. Once they have done that they can raise prices to a higher level than they would ultimately be. So, if Trump has to follow through with the threat of tariffs you can bet its to improve overall level of competition which ultimately keeps prices low.

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One of trumps claims is that he will bring down inflation. I think specifically, he intends to lower fuel costs which should lower transportation costs and thus, the cost of goods. I get that.

Another claim of trump is that he will levy a tariff on Chinese imports (I think north of 50%) and other countries at 25%. I think we’d all agree that anyone selling those products will pass the cost onto the consumer- which raises prices.

It seems to me that the raised tariff costs will not outweigh the lowered transportation costs. At best, they’d offset but still, a 50% increase in cost of goods is tough to overdone with lowered fuel costs which don’t have equal weighting in the overall cost of goods.

Frankly, I think trump needs to temper the tariff talk.

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Tariffs do not necessarily have the cause and effect that you might think it does in terms of raising import prices from a particular country.

Let me give you an example of when the opposite occurs.

When Trump raised tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum in 2017 all the typical "free trade" peanut gallery of critics screamed this is going to cause massive inflation. Well the opposite happened:



Why did overall cost of imported goods go down when Trump raised tariffs on steel and aluminum?

Because the Peoples Bank of China responded by printing (i.e., devaluing their currency thereby increasing the purchasing power of the dollar).

Overall the effect that tariffs on steel and aluminum had on import prices was a net decrease in price because of Chinese central bank printing.

The take away is, you have to have smart people implementing tax policy that can recognize economic opportunities for the country in terms of trade policy. On the surface tariffs can be bad. However if implemented strategically they can be beneficial to the industry you are trying to protect and the consumer of imports like demonstrated here.

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The math is simple

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Then tell me how much more im paying per year on daily used goods

And dont be lazy and say 5%

You realize a country with labor laws like our own, cannot fairly compete with slave labor?