[DesertRhino]

And if tariffs are so bad, then why do places like Japan love them so much? We can’t get *anything* imported past their protectionist policies. Man they are dumb in Japan, don’t they know that if they opened their markets to our beef and rice farmers, their domestic beef and rice industries would magically flourish i guess?

[cripplecreek]

Reagan imposed carefully targeted tariffs on certain Japanese made goods and the Japanese responded by manufacturing here. He saved Harley Davidson and brought new manufacturers.

[Toddsterpatriot]

U.S. Exports to Japan
from 2004 to 2008
By 5-digit End-Use Code

(In thousands of dollars)

Additional information

End-Use Code	Value 2004	Value 2005	Value 2006	Value 2007	Value 2008
(00000) Wheat	515,635	512,498	573,154	792,345	1,616,783
(00010) Rice	174,308	165,184	174,088	173,871	185,567
(00100) Soybeans	1,030,961	835,220	882,648	1,129,555	1,430,518
(00110) Oilseeds, food oils	52,762	50,788	48,347	80,334	88,020
(00200) Corn	1,916,754	1,633,016	1,972,828	2,642,054	3,892,214
(00210) Sorghum, barley, oats	113,108	171,090	167,195	186,209	243,972
(00220) Animal feeds, n.e.c.	639,763	727,025	754,537	825,346	922,420
(00300) Meat, poultry, etc.	1,072,352	1,197,490	1,196,797	1,506,797	2,062,079
(00310) Dairy products and eggs	86,751	114,236	105,838	131,397	202,792
(00320) Fruits, frozen juices	605,438	546,591	556,286	645,499	629,704
(00330) Vegetables	476,487	487,744	499,339	505,210	546,873
(00340) Nuts	177,211	214,649	202,040	199,749	202,806
(00350) Bakery products	116,309	108,154	104,873	112,906	129,075
(00360) Other foods	541,644	609,830	609,550	668,820	607,922
(00370) Wine and related products	90,274	85,200	75,017	64,897	62,687
(01000) Fish and shellfish	1,084,017	1,124,697	958,799	793,921	789,941
(01010) Alcoholic beverages, excluding wine	64,239	64,210	68,244	64,206	68,412
(01020) Nonagricultural foods, etc.	65,055	49,176	43,990	46,229	45,271
(10000) Cotton, raw	94,188	80,673	77,204	105,946	130,430
(10100) Tobacco, unmanufactured	103,956	55,348	7,756	7,814	36
(10120) Hides and skins	98,604	78,488	88,973	82,860	61,310
(10130) Agric. industry-unmanufactured	74,997	71,509	78,544	82,575	110,938
(10140) Agric. farming-unmanufactured	136,735	132,268	160,069	155,692	120,367
(10150) Agriculture-manufactured, other	165,187	174,520	161,281	148,805	149,959
(11010) Metallurgical grade coal	286,400	162,037	26,733	0	199,447
(11020) Coal and fuels, other	186,235	127,199	92,329	112,104	184,840
(11110) Fuel oil	14,656	42,488	75,577	26,898	71,216
(11120) Petroleum products, other	472,377	504,061	461,558	578,297	973,348
(11130) Natural gas liquids	1,539	1,449	21,425	14,160	27,152
(11200) Gas-natural	139,211	140,969	156,457	110,551	321,700
(11300) Nuclear fuel materials	714,087	486,544	582,440	824,027	614,206
(12000) Steelmaking materials	76,430	101,987	160,075	394,455	470,439
(12100) Iron and steel mill products	33,314	53,999	39,406	49,936	46,559
(12110) Iron and steel products, other	72,326	71,819	93,214	98,890	121,192
(12200) Aluminum and alumina	128,587	187,706	304,877	353,852	348,245
(12210) Copper	82,362	124,665	222,167	284,775	423,613
(12260) Nonmonetary gold	13,145	71,347	11,435	23,723	16,677
(12270) Precious metals, other	290,312	400,527	871,573	1,494,838	1,252,555
(12290) Nonferrous metals, other	485,688	755,883	1,081,220	1,289,266	1,341,651
(12300) Finished metal shapes	324,740	340,743	424,913	462,559	572,301
(12420) Pulpwood and woodpulp	364,850	380,146	446,341	401,281	451,119
(12430) Newsprint	615,393	601,912	584,490	567,722	615,989
(12500) Plastic materials	932,021	1,058,919	1,153,618	1,138,766	1,384,807
(12510) Chemicals-fertilizers	229,710	245,096	240,268	233,384	611,304
(12530) Chemicals-inorganic	433,570	473,755	513,890	586,425	642,636
(12540) Chemicals-organic	1,435,448	1,517,903	1,419,950	1,669,785	1,741,904
(12550) Chemicals-other	1,134,135	1,164,720	1,258,396	1,235,980	1,411,517
(12600) Cotton fiber cloth	10,924	9,443	6,994	10,459	7,836
(12620) Manmade cloth	113,916	115,102	154,293	137,602	159,016
(12630) Hair, waste materials	33,031	29,635	35,864	26,909	30,889
(12640) Finished textile supplies	67,549	74,750	77,926	67,573	71,359
(12650) Leather and furs	13,500	4,606	5,910	91,677	73,904
(12700) Synthetic rubber-primary	86,570	135,356	163,443	133,221	124,001
(12720) Nonmetallic minerals	37,520	45,101	46,025	41,960	44,190
(12750) Industrial rubber products	54,861	38,906	44,629	41,575	45,556
(12760) Mineral supplies-manufactured	420,677	423,908	505,160	581,817	491,992
(12765) Tapes, audio and visual	49,887	35,884	39,005	21,367	41,432
(12770) Other industrial supplies	600,538	586,043	637,888	649,880	616,597
(13100) Logs and lumber	645,785	574,850	578,171	530,983	547,501
(13110) Wood supplies, manufactured	71,733	60,711	51,792	41,907	36,150
(13200) Glass-plate, sheet, etc.	134,838	106,211	136,058	77,290	52,953
(13210) Shingles, molding, wallboard	114,134	117,109	115,343	141,667	157,651
(13220) Nontextile floor tiles	13,004	14,509	12,623	9,750	7,660
(20000) Generators, accessories	177,582	188,581	212,155	197,134	238,007
(20005) Electric apparatus	795,701	882,170	859,893	756,127	778,497
(21000) Drilling & oilfield equipment	33,658	42,779	35,956	31,838	29,855
(21010) Specialized mining	4,205	5,706	4,976	6,324	6,756
(21030) Excavating machinery	87,645	150,793	86,336	121,927	88,402
(21040) Nonfarm tractors and parts	36,972	47,834	42,759	92,706	86,106
(21100) Industrial engines	433,660	452,209	480,959	590,806	592,896
(21110) Food, tobacco machinery	140,877	148,265	115,250	106,315	114,042
(21120) Metalworking machine tools	672,506	765,772	962,872	280,533	220,764
(21130) Textile, sewing machines	33,721	33,834	33,026	26,398	34,700
(21140) Wood, glass, plastic	278,467	178,306	163,466	132,499	318,749
(21150) Pulp and paper machinery	122,305	111,126	110,215	99,136	68,876
(21160) Measuring, testing, control instruments	1,570,345	1,456,700	1,695,743	1,525,060	1,319,877
(21170) Materials handling equipment	193,276	244,602	248,755	238,677	259,254
(21180) Industrial machines, other	2,075,711	1,985,747	2,340,788	2,878,512	2,396,421
(21190) Photo, service industry machinery	282,188	291,131	326,506	398,222	342,514
(21200) Agricultural machinery, equipment	84,735	66,551	57,322	61,199	52,331
(21300) Computers	535,870	572,859	594,643	617,593	650,850
(21301) Computer accessories	1,959,051	1,795,672	1,753,544	1,428,826	1,012,665
(21320) Semiconductors	2,367,086	1,872,528	2,066,640	1,737,066	1,625,044
(21400) Telecommunications equipment	1,962,899	1,869,233	2,068,873	2,039,868	1,816,072
(21500) Business machines and equipment	101,400	63,462	53,575	139,551	99,445
(21600) Laboratory testing instruments	878,999	859,890	871,160	949,014	903,191
(21610) Medicinal equipment	2,347,862	2,723,780	2,664,909	2,540,775	2,830,576
(22000) Civilian aircraft	2,754,672	3,195,908	3,497,713	4,154,169	3,520,805
(22010) Parts-civilian aircraft	1,086,591	1,255,517	1,409,833	1,517,859	1,577,420
(22020) Engines-civilian aircraft	923,924	887,648	1,079,142	1,183,076	1,447,950
(22100) Railway transportation equipment	28,605	24,965	37,190	42,790	52,414
(22200) Vessels, excluding scrap	325	124	272	843	697
(22210) Commercial vessels, other	5,523	6,195	5,883	8,698	7,202
(22220) Marine engines, parts	31,451	46,806	34,902	72,863	37,804
(22300) Spacecraft, excluding military	7,614	14,738	8,954	17,083	13,906
(30000) Passenger cars, new and used	486,991	533,611	476,818	504,757	533,877
(30100) Trucks, buses and special purpose vehicles	25,920	40,729	37,860	71,434	105,831
(30200) Engines and engine parts (carburetors, pistons, ri	176,495	210,240	247,405	242,185	271,577
(30210) Bodies and chassis for passenger cars	5,068	4,963	10,311	2,646	1,429
(30220) Automotive tires and tubes	87,019	91,707	85,210	90,284	84,059
(30230) Other parts and accessories of vehicles	1,233,831	1,139,134	1,418,654	1,389,517	1,167,822
(40000) Apparel, household goods - textile	282,310	336,578	289,022	236,486	234,852
(40030) Apparel,household goods-nontextile	218,330	242,286	228,438	175,578	179,813
(40050) Sports apparel and gear	32,663	27,802	30,955	24,653	27,119
(40100) Pharmaceutical preparations	1,410,220	1,586,405	1,796,411	1,679,294	1,893,530
(40110) Books, printed matter	162,029	153,125	153,952	152,338	162,954
(40120) Toiletries and cosmetics	443,450	444,615	404,899	431,992	496,153
(40130) Tobacco, manufactured	954,346	883,711	934,935	761,056	599,685
(40140) Writing and art supplies	158,982	155,595	148,494	146,248	169,120
(41000) Furniture, household goods, etc.	85,997	86,091	82,597	87,547	69,626
(41010) Glassware, chinaware	17,033	18,979	17,251	17,936	16,034
(41020) Cookware, cutlery, tools	55,481	54,113	50,510	41,460	38,585
(41030) Household appliances	102,029	97,076	107,464	104,276	101,835
(41040) Rugs	32,283	26,167	21,179	14,862	11,803
(41050) Other household goods	960,325	1,059,116	1,210,601	1,442,358	1,687,817
(41110) Pleasure boats and motors	55,147	69,455	75,628	70,667	56,309
(41120) Toys/games/sporting goods	509,593	536,076	563,174	546,093	585,043
(41140) Musical instruments	124,502	141,162	139,750	147,565	177,503
(41200) TV's, VCR's, etc.	89,476	96,436	89,317	56,516	48,447
(41210) Stereo equipment, etc.	181,716	209,072	244,525	241,464	205,778
(41220) Records, tapes, and disks	271,627	255,036	219,862	242,647	200,271
(41300) Numismatic coins	894	1,494	2,154	2,361	6,408
(41310) Jewelry, etc	407,146	467,420	669,198	726,402	519,108
(41320) Artwork, antiques, stamps, etc.	119,041	173,998	209,017	218,444	169,182
(42000) Nursery stock, etc.	6,167	6,114	12,959	6,506	8,758
(42100) Gem diamonds	89,676	100,387	102,476	107,562	72,918
(50000) Military aircraft, complete	706	71,287	99,460	60,981	400,564
(50010) Aircraft launching gear, parachutes, etc.	20,524	30,534	11,544	8,803	11,477
(50020) Engines and turbines for military aircraft	186,983	206,282	203,660	249,072	257,938
(50030) Military trucks, armored vehicles, etc.	47,252	33,617	45,905	11,680	49,183
(50050) Tanks, artillery, missiles, rockets, guns and ammu	307,635	465,735	493,627	419,997	491,538
(50060) Military apparel and footwear	17,221	68,664	196,285	66,694	45,438
(50070) Parts for military-type goods	873,921	793,348	845,034	924,101	869,476
(60000) Minimum value shipments	563,820	573,285	618,738	640,926	693,184
(60010) Miscellaneous domestic exports and special transac	992,098	1,073,999	672,350	634,239	659,820
TOTAL	54,243,120	55,484,472	59,612,714	62,703,458	66,579,152

---

Additional Information

• Contact the Data Dissemination Branch of the Foreign Trade Division with any questions or for additional information.
• For information on data sources and methodology, check out the Information on the Collection and Publication of Trade Statistics.

We can’t get *anything* imported past their protectionist policies.

Over $66 billion last year. Hardly anything.

Man they are dumb in Japan

That'd be you, clown.

[Mase]

Man they are dumb in Japan, don’t they know that if they opened their markets to our beef and rice farmers, their domestic beef and rice industries would magically flourish i guess?

LOL! Yeah, if only we could be more like Japan. Then we could have two decades of recession and deflation and a national debt that's more than 200% of GDP. Those would be good times. What a loon.

[donmeaker]

I understand that Japanese beef is frequently served in the White House.

And the Japanese have had 20% unemployment for the last 20 years. Not who I would emulate.

[1010RD]

Let’s say your arguments are sound. Tariffs are not bad and targeted tariffs are even good. They can create jobs.

You’ll admit then that tariffs are like earmarks. An earmark takes taxpayer money and benefits a targeted or preferred constituent or constituency and a tariff does the same thing.

Now, you’ll likely object to the taxpayer money being lost in a tariff, but you’d be wrong. Imagine a tariff that protects Sen. Durbins favorite widget manufacturer - ACME Widgets. It targets “unfair” competition from say the Red Chinese who really want to corner the widget market in the world and the USA.

The Red Chinese so badly want the widget market that they allocate significant resources into it allowing RED Widgets (a wholly owned subsidiary of the PLA) to sell their widgets for $1.00. ACME cannot even come close to that. Their widgets at a 5% net profit margin must be sold for $10.00. Americans who used to only buy one widget a quarter now buy hundreds at the new RED widgets price.

What you have is the following: a misallocation of productive assets on the part of the Red Chinese into widgets. The money spent on capturing the widget market could have been used to make something else. In America you have a demand curve that literally moves outward due to the low price. Who gains?

Americans are delighted with their widgets. Widgets are good.

Now government is faced with a dilemma. ACME employs several hundred American workers. They will lose if ACME is driven out of business. Sen. Durbin places a special tariff on widgets raising the imported price by $9.00 and making it equal to the ACME Widgets price. Who gains?

Only ACME and its employees. All other Americans lose. They are now forced to accept less widgets or the same amount, but at an inflated price. The demand curve shifts back to “normal”.

Now we have no idea if ACME is poorly run. We don’t know if the owners have squandered resources that should have been moved into producing widgets at a lower price and more efficiently. ACME may have all kinds of ridiculous legacy costs or work rules imposed upon it making it uncompetitive. Nothing in the tariff will repair this, but it did just transfer American wealth back to Americans. Like shifting money from one pocket to another. No new wealth was created.

Under the previous regime, Chinese wealth was being transferred to Americans via the subsidy paid by Red China to its manufacturing arm Red Widgets.

Surely, you see that, right?

There is a third option, do nothing. What happens in this scenario?

ACME goes under (we are uncertain whether it is deserved, but it certainly came faster than it would have without the Red Chinese subsidizing their exports to the U.S.). All its workers are thrown out of work. What happens to them? Are they trapped in unemployment for the rest of their lives? Have jobs been “lost” in this scenario? Have they been “gained” in the pro-tariffs scenario?

What naturally happens is some will take other jobs paying the same, some less. Some will learn other trades or skills and move on to new industries.

The Red Chinese realize now is the time to strike. They raise prices on widgets to $20 as their is no competition. ACME’s old managers and some employees realize there is new opportunity and start a company and sell widgets at $10. Forcing the Chinese to drive prices back down. Eventually, we innovate because free competition encourages innovation and our prices drop.

Now the Chinese must choose to subsidize widgets or not. You cannot manage an economy. It is impossible.

Economy by the way really means household management. So when you talk about managing the economy you really mean manage the millions of individual households and all their economic decisions.

Subsidies cause harm to the nation that uses them. Tariffs reduce the wealth of the country that imposes them.