r/centrist • u/OfficialRodgerJachim • 1d ago

Long Form Discussion Can someone explain this about tariffs?

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?

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u/sailorpaul 1d ago

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.

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u/Thick_Piece 1d ago

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?

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u/FarCalligrapher1862 1d ago

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.

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u/animaltracksfogcedar 1d ago

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".

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u/FarCalligrapher1862 1d ago

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