The Real Reason for Trump’s Steel and Aluminum Tariffs

Was it my saying "America's a lot better off that this has been true w/ our trade policy, but China's government is still having a hard time shaking off it's bad habit of distorting markets w/ state control."? You don't agree that the U.S. has general dropped merchantilism from its trade policy? You don't think China's still trying for a strong measure of state control of its economy? What then?

 

[ igore ]

 

You lack credibility as the US is introducing irrational traee policy to pander only to nationalist knuckle draggers.

Mecantilism died with comparative advantage. You do realise that Ricardo died yonks ago don't you?

You can of course whine about China and government failure. That doesn't give an excuse for tariffs which are actually targetted at other countries.

 

HAHA! Ask a right winger for evidence........

 

I agree.

Accepted wisdom is that low tariffs make you stronger overall.
But to ignore America's negotiating strength in this regard may well be missing a trick.

 

I love how right wingers are so quick to return to mercantilism folly. It neatly advertises how they only play lip service to economic reality.

 

There are

There are all kinds of good reasons to slash import taxes and one of the many is for increasing revenue. iirc this last year we've taken in more import tax revenue that we got for the first 80 years --back when most of the fed budget revenue was import tax.

 

Another statement that lacks economic logic. Import revenues are typically important in developing countries (given the problems associated with the informal sector).

 

accepted conservative wisdom is that no tariffs make you strongest
you mean negotiating strength to get others to open their markets?

 

Americans are the ones who do not understand that the empire is waning.

 

got so all we need to do is turn to communism-right??

 

Not sure that has anything to do with it pard.

 

Maybe it's because I've had a long day today so I'm just guessing as to just what you're saying here, but I can tell you flat out that I like lower taxes and I like free markets. You can call that right or left as u wish, but so far I'm pleased w/ Trump's results on both taxes and markets.

There's been a lot of rants on his taxes on steel'n'aluminum but so far they have not appeared to change anything inside the U.S.; my hope is that (like you say) he's bargaining w/ foreigners. As far as I'm concerned it's already been a good situation and my take is that his aim is to make it better.

 

Decoupling, where the world cares less about the US, can be a very painful experience. It certainly can encourage self-destructive outcomes, including mercantilism and aggressive foreign policy. It's of course the American people who will suffer...

 

yes all his advisers say Trump is not a protectionist, just a guy who wants a fair trade deal for America. I have no idea why he pulled out of TPP though.

 

That would be a good topic. Can the US prosper as an isolated state?

The one saving grace for the US is its abundant food exports that are not available in other countries. That's likely why China is scrambling all over Africa, South America, and South East Asia building economic alliances and developing ag resources.

 

obviously no. The more you can pick among [whether individuals, companies, cities, states, countries] the lower the price and the higher the quality you can find. Econ 101 class on day one.

 

Prior to globalisation, it's got everything you need. Raw materials, large internal market and organisational innovations to secure economies of scale.

To maximise prosperity now (without the additional gains from trade), it would need to significantly change it's structure. It would need, for example, greater income equality (ensuring more consistent consumption patterns and that labour quality is maintained). Without that, there would be a tendency towards economic crisis. In the past, countries got around that problem through imperialism...

It annoys me that the US and EU have been reliant on agricultural protectionism. You'd think they'd be able to minimise the threat of food insecurity through their productivity enhancements. Without the conservatism of subsidies, we might also see greater creation of cooperatives (such that land is used more effectively)

 

Remember the Boston Tea Party. Even then international trade was central to our standard of living.