Someone explain the tariffs thing to me

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I don't see the issue.

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What do you think is going to happen to prices for imported goods when you apply a tariff to them?

Will American citizens pay more, less, or the same for those goods?

When you find the correct answer among those choices, you will see the issue.

I think there are two different tariff discussions:

1) Reciprocal tariffs: This is a no brainer conversation. If someone is putting a tariff on our products we should implement the same standard of tariff on theirs.

2) Tariffs to replace income taxes: I'm pretty sure this would require new tariffs independent of whatever reciprocating tariffs are in place but we essentially create a consumption tax on foreign goods only.

Correct.

The left needs mechanism to hide their money laundering and corruption.

The loudest complainers are usually the most guilty.

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What do you think is going to happen to prices for imported goods when you apply a tariff to them?

Will American citizens pay more, less, or the same for those goods?

When you find the correct answer among those choices, you will see the issue.

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Wouldnt the tariffs on our products be dropped in exchange for them dropping their tariffs?

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What do you think is going to happen to prices for imported goods when you apply a tariff to them?

Will American citizens pay more, less, or the same for those goods?

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So you're ok with say Brazil charging us 18% and we only charge them 3%? Because that is what's happening.

It's like American people have been conditioned to want to be fricked over.

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Wouldnt the tariffs on our products be dropped in exchange for them dropping their tariffs?

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That's not up to us, it's up to the other countries.

But let's say they do drop them.

Why would they do so?

In other words, why would it potentially be an effective strategy?

When Americans buy less of those imports what will happen?

Do people buy American?
Do those foreign goods prices go down to compensate for the extra tariffs?
Does this suppress their ability to compete and makes us stronger?

If either happens it is good for Americans.

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So you're ok with say Brazil charging us 18% and we only charge them 3%?

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So you're o.k. with American citizens paying more for Brazilian imported goods than they currently pay?

Because that's what happens when you apply a tariff.

This junior high mentality of "They're charging us a tariff, we need to do the same!" ignores who pays for the tariff.

It's us. You and me. Not Brazil. John and Jane Q. American Citizen.

It's literally being upset that some other country is artificially screwing its citizens more than we're screwing ours, so we feel the need to catch up.

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And why does it work as leverage? What is wrong with you morons?

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Because America is one of, if not the biggest, consumers in the world. If the price of foreign goods goes up, then, on the margin, our quantity of foreign goods demanded goes down.

If we buy fewer things from foreign countries, the foreign countries get less revenue.

If we are a large percentage of the revenue of the foreign country, but they are a relatively smaller percentage of our expenses, then there’s a unbalanced effect of the tariff (i.e., they are harmed more by the tariffs than we are harmed by the tariffs).

If they have more to lose than we do by tariffs, then they may implement policy changes to remove the tariffs (i.e., remove their tariffs on our goods).

Hope this helps.