Trump just announced that they are putting across the board 10% tariffs on imports from the less developed countries, which is mainly raw materials or food.
None of what you said has anything to do with a 10% across the board tariff on less developed countries. They don't export manufactured products to us. As I pointed out.
Also it's across the board, on every country. It has nothing to with whether or not any specific nation is creating barriers to our products.
I ask again, what does that to do with reshoring manufacturing or so called “fair trade”?” It just makes things cost more.
“ They don’t export manufactured products to us. As I pointed out.”.
Raw materials can be manufactured goods or farm products processed in some way. There are also factories in third world countries that process raw materials shipped to the US for final assembly. An example would be lumber cut from trees and milled into boards in a third world country like Honduras and then shipped to a US factory for final processing into decking or furniture.
US farmers grow crops also grown in poor countries. Should the US farmer pay US taxes on his US sales of products while the farmer in a developing country can ship his competing products into the US market and pay no taxes? The American farmer is disadvantaged in that situation. The same for the American miner or American producer of lumber. The American producer pays taxes and fees to build and maintain the infrastructure that allows the US to have a large market. The foreign competitor who pays no taxes, duties or tariffs to gain access to the US market gets a free ride and a cost advantage competing against Americans in our home market.
Why shouldn’t the Brazilian orange grower pay for access to the US market if the Florida or California grower is paying US federal and state taxes? The same for the Chilean copper mine versus the Arizona copper mine. Fair trade is equal rules of engagement. When the US supplier is taxed by the US government and the foreign supplier is not taxed by the US government for selling the same product in the US market, fair trade does not exist. Ultimately the US farmer or miner will lose.
As for Trump’s tariffs, so far the early economic data does not show them being passed along to the US consumer in the form of higher prices. It appears the foreign suppliers are absorbing the cost of tariffs. Time will tell if this cost absorption continues but so far those economists insisting tariffs will result in higher prices at home have been wrong.