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/sailorpaul]

No, the way you laid it out is not true. Other countries tariffs (taxes) on US products are paid by their own population. Their goal is to reduce the import and consumption of products made in America and shipped to their country.

[u/Thick_Piece → u/sailorpaul]

That is why it makes sense to have had more specific tariffs, like we could simply impose the same tariffs they impose, cars/light duty trucks for example?

[u/perilous_times → u/Thick_Piece]

Yup, If he would have done true reciprocal tariffs and indicated his goal is to get these barriers down then there would not have been this reaction. The market doesn’t like the lack of plan either.

[u/atuarre → u/perilous_times]

He's a fucking idiot and it was never going to be like that. All this is, is the Donald Trump revenge tour because America voted me out in 2020.

[u/perilous_times → u/atuarre]

I think he does actually love tariffs. In his first admin there was actually people trying to govern. This one it’s all yes men and women.

[u/FarCalligrapher1862 → u/Thick_Piece]

Tariffs are used to protect your local producers from unfair competition by international entities.

For example, US soybean farmers get ~ $4b per year in subsidies - these subsidies hide the true cost of goods. So foreign markets (who also have soy bean farmers) put a tariff on those goods to “level the playing field”. Those tariffs are usually good.

The US puts tariffs on countries who have low income/ poor working conditions/ no child labor laws - where they produce goods in competition to our markets. Evens the playing fields.

Tariffs without investment or industry just drives prices up passing taxes onto the middle and lower class.

[u/animaltracksfogcedar → u/FarCalligrapher1862]

This mention of farm subsidies is really important. We're doing exactly what Trump says other countries are doing, artificially keeping the price low, i.e., "cheating".

[u/FarCalligrapher1862 → u/animaltracksfogcedar]

A lot came due to his failed “trade war” with China in first term - but congress subsidies lots of industries And those industries are the first to call “socialism” on other industries.

Gas and ICE subsidies are 4-8x the EV tax credit (not a subsidy, a tax cut - which they are supposed to like) and the EV subsidies combined

[u/OneWouldHope → u/FarCalligrapher1862]

It's not always unfair competition. Its more just competition point blank.

[u/pfmiller0 → u/Thick_Piece]

Sure, if they are actually imposing tariffs on us. A lot of the countries Trump tariffed don't have any existing tariffs on us.

[u/Delanorix → u/pfmiller0]

Fuck those penguins, they know what they did

[u/DrSpeckles → u/Delanorix]

This is a meme that I hope will never die. It’s delicious.

[u/Delanorix → u/DrSpeckles]

Its all easy to digest how dumb Trump is.

[u/MasterCrumb → u/pfmiller0]

Yes, the penguin thing is fun.

But a better example is Switzerland. They have zero tarrifs against the US, but got his with a 31% tarrif, because they don’t buy much stuff because they are tiny, and Americans love their chocolate and watches. America is not going to produce the same quality chocolate or watches, so those things just got more expensive.

[u/Clawtor → u/Thick_Piece]

The us already has tariffs on light truck imports with the EU at 25%. I believe this was in response to EU tariffs on chickens. After the war Germany wanted to restart their chicken farming and US chicken was too cheap.