I noticed that Musk doesn't counter Navarro's analysis - rather he points out that Navarro isn't a manufacturer/builder.
For me and hopefully most Americans, the tariff argument is very simple. Require countries to pay the same level of tariff and government fees like VAT that they charge us. AKA not being a sucker! The other thing that needs to be shouted from the housetops is that we are $36 Trillion in debt and recouping money from countries that have grifted on the U.S. taxpayer for decades will 'help' reduce the debt.
It’s not just tariff for tariff, it’s also tariff for negative balance of trade (which might be better long term).
This is a complete misreading of our tariff wars.
Our new tariffs are NOT retaliatory to foreign tariffs. I defy you to find a correlation.
The White House cooked up its numbers based on TRADE DEFICITS, not tariffs.
If a poor country exports commodities like cobalt, lithium, or diamonds, it doesn’t mean its citizens have the capacity to buy much in the way of US products. So therefore, we may buy $200 million in molybdenum, but the buying power of the entire population is a fraction of that. That means that they run a deficit WITHOUT ANY TARIFFS ON THEIR SIDE.
As of this week, we’ll charge a 50% tariff on its exports to the US, tariffs which will be paid by US industry.
The $26 Trillion in debt is due to our fiscal irresponsibility. It is not a result of cumulative trade deficits. Trade surpluses or deficits won’t lower or expand ou indebtness.