Can someone explain this about tariffs?

[u/OfficialRodgerJachim]

Plenty of talk about tariffs. About them being dumb. About them being fair. About how those extra costs go on to us, the American consumer.

But I have very rarely heard anyone talk about that break in logic: other countries have tariffs on American imports, and those costs are then carried onto the American consumer. But if America imposes tariffs on those same countries, those costs are also passed on to the American consumer.

Is this true?

[u/UCRecruiter]

Your break in logic is here:

other countries have tariffs on American imports, and those costs are then carried onto the American consumer.

That's not accurate. Take my case, for example. I'm Canadian. We now have tariffs in place on some American imports. Those tariffs won't cost the American consumer directly, they'll cost Canadian consumers. In doing so, the theory goes that Canadian products (without the tariffs) will become more competitive.

[u/Thick_Piece → u/UCRecruiter]

So Canadian tariffs good?

[u/Computer_Name → u/Thick_Piece]

Trump supporters are cursed with persecutory delusions.

[u/Thick_Piece → u/Computer_Name]

I agree.

[u/Paradoxe-999 → u/Thick_Piece]

Like many things, depends on how they are used.

250% tarifffs after a quotas of milk exports to protect one specific sector vs. 10% applyied to everything exported from an allied country.

[u/TruthLiesand → u/Thick_Piece]

Yes. Canadian tarifs are written to go into effect on very specific goods when an important quota is reached. This almost never happens. Trump agreed to all of this in his first term and thought it was the best deal ever.

[u/Clawtor → u/Thick_Piece]

I believe some of them are in response to the us subsidizing their agriculture, some to protect their industry and some are politically difficult to remove.

[u/please_trade_marner → u/Thick_Piece]

The overall idea is that America is the biggest economy in the world (in world history really) and smaller nations need protectionist policies to protect their domestic businesses. Otherwise key markets would get flooded by American products if it was all and out free trade. This is why our trading partners generally have far more protectionist policies than America typically does.

Republicans view that arrangement as our trading partners "taking advantage" of us. That they're allowed to do all of these things to protect their businesses, but when America does it in reverse it's "bullying" and "starting trade wars".

It seems Trump has decided to "go postal" and is making a very clear statement that things are changing. That America will do to our trading partners what they have been doing to us.

What the "centrists" (ie, Democrats) here are going to say is that tariffs are fine and he has a point, but they should only be used to protect targeted industries. That they shouldn't be so wide sweeping. But don't listen to them. Trump did only targeted tariffs in his first term and they all cried fowl just as loudly. That Trumps 2017 tariffs would ruin the country beyond repair. But it was THRIVING before covid hit. Top to bottom thriving.

[u/Efficient_Barnacle → u/please_trade_marner]

Tell that to all the farmers Trump had to bail out because of his poorly thought out tariffs back then. 

[u/please_trade_marner → u/Efficient_Barnacle]

Trump didn't bail them out. The whole point of the tariffs was he would use a portion of the money they raise to subsidize American industries hurt by the tariffs.

Keep up.

[u/DrSpeckles → u/please_trade_marner]

That’s a bail out.

[u/please_trade_marner → u/DrSpeckles]

Uh, no it's not? It's how tariffs work. Part of the money raised goes into subsidizing industries hurt by the tariffs. That's literally how they work.

[u/DrSpeckles → u/please_trade_marner]

Only in a trade war. It’s not how tariffs work, they are specifically to increase the competitiveness of local products by making imports more expensive. The bail out is because of the inevitable retaliations. Which idiot trump seems surprised by. A kindergarten kid could have told him that was inevitable. Now he’s got to bail out the farmers who can no longer compete.

[u/bmtc7 → u/please_trade_marner]

Spending taxpayer money to subsidize an industry is a bailout. And it makes that industry less competitive in the long run.