Donald Trump is at war with the world, or at least with 97 countries, with his recently announced threats of tariffs on imports.
Sri Lanka, Jordan, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Lichtenstein, and any other country that provides inexpensive goods to U.S. markets have been hit. Even Heard and McDonald Islands near Antarctica, inhabited by only penguins, is on Trump’s “thoughtful list” of trade enemies.
Trump’s tariff war, which taxes less expensive products being brought into America, is fraught with idiotic posturing, flip-flopping agendas and false bluster that has the world worried.
Trump says his tariffs are meant to reverse our trade deficits. A trade deficit is when a country imports more than it exports.
A trade deficit is not a bad thing, as it offers consumers cheaper and often better products than those sourced locally. World trade binds us together, bringing economic stability.
Brent Neiman is the economist whose study Trump cited for the tariff calculations. Nieman on CNN stated that Trump misappropriated his study completely, “using a 25% formula, an arbitrary number, instead of 95%” upon which his study was based.
Trump doesn’t seem to understand that “America First” means “America Alone.”
Rather than letting us take advantage of cheaper items, often not found in the U.S., Trump is asking to defy nature and geography.
Should we try to grow fruit in the harsh Midwest winter, plant coffee, peanuts and cocoa for chocolate that are doomed to fail due to improper climate, and move entire land masses to the U.S. for rare earth minerals and raw materials to be mined?
I recently bought a bag of cashews from Costco. The cashews were sourced from up to 14 countries and processed by hand in Vietnam. Cashews won’t grow here. And who is willing to shell thousands of cashews per day by hand for Vietnam’s prevailing minimum wage?
Home Depot estimates that 80% of its nails, bolts and screws come from China and most wood for construction comes from Canada.
Trump is encouraging outrageously expensive coffee, chocolate, bananas, winter fruit from South America, car parts from Mexico, and unaffordable material for construction from Canada and China.
Imports are a blessing, not a curse.
With the tariffs in place, do we need to give up construction, imported clothing, and access to fresh produce year-round?
We buy cheap goods from overseas for several reasons that include 1) the cost of labor overseas significantly lowers the price, 2) raw materials and produce are not found here or can’t be grown locally, 3) the importer maximizes efficiency or uses advanced technology whereas domestic costs are much higher or the products are less capable, or 4) we have a beneficial trade/political relationship tied to joint security or economic alliances.
Warren Buffet was recently quoted as saying, “A tariff is an act of war …”
A tariff is a duty or tax on products coming in from outside the country, often a tool of punishment. Trump’s last-minute tariff threats, impulsive suspensions, reinstatements, and unplanned pauses seem not to be economically driven, but purely retaliatory and capricious.
Trump crashed the stock market with full knowledge that every American would pay much more for far less. And Trump’s goal to bring back minimum-wage jobs is a foolhardy objective.
If Trump really wanted to move factory jobs here, he ignored that new production sites take years to build and staff. Making imports unaffordable creates retaliatory responses on our exports and will have only destructive consequences for five to 10 years before our new plants are operational.
These outrageous tariffs are generating stock market crashes, hostility from our world partners, and economic instability, yet hurt the little guy.
Ask yourself if you think Trump’s goal is to save us money in the long run. Consider the expenditure of an estimated $98 million for a military parade on Trump’s birthday or the $26 million (in just 12 weeks) spent in extra security for his twice-a-week golf vacations.
If Trump’s motive is to save taxpayer money, why does he waste millions on himself? Does a costly parade or four years of days off playing golf costing over half a billion benefit you and me?
The Boston Tea Party was a revolt against King George’s tariff on imported tea. The legacy of the tea tax is still felt, as Americans moved to coffee over tea in rebellion, preferring coffee even today.
While Trump levies tariffs on our closest partners including Canada and Mexico, why is there no tax on Russia?
Are we to switch from coffee to vodka?
Jonathan Kraut
Santa Clarita
