Posted on 06/02/2018 7:59:13 AM PDT by reaganaut1
Originally President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum exempted imports from Canada, Mexico, and Europe. No longer. The administration has broadened the application of its tariffs even as their strategic and economic costs are becoming more apparent.
The law gives Trump the authority to impose tariffs to protect national security. These tariffs are, however, an abuse of that law. The Department of Defense has explained that the military needs only 3 percent of our domestic steel and aluminum production, and our largest supplier, Canada, is an ally — albeit one that now has reason to be miffed with us. The steel and aluminum tariffs have undermined our ability to make common cause with other countries against Chinese mercantilism, and even aided China’s campaign to gain influence among them.
Economically, we will pay for these tariffs twice over. Companies that rely on steel and aluminum will pay higher prices — and those companies are responsible for far more employment than the steel and aluminum industries themselves. For that reason, President George W. Bush’s steel tariffs were estimated to cost more jobs than they protected, as were President Barack Obama’s tire tariffs. There is no reason to expect happier results this time. And other countries are also imposing retaliatory tariffs on us.
Most congressional Republicans think the tariffs, by hurting their constituents, will also hurt their reelection prospects. They would like to campaign on today’s strong economy and the tax and regulatory policies that have helped to bring it about. The president’s new trade taxes counteract those policies.
(Excerpt) Read more at nationalreview.com ...
No need to read beyond “National Review”.
L
Kneel! Kneel you American serfs, obey your Canadian, Mexican and European betters. It’s your destiny to be unemployed so we can live off the sweat of your brows.
Note that Reagan put the tariff on final goods. Trump put tariffs on intermediate goods which encourages firms to just import final goods rather than absorb price increases.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/steel-tariffs-are-taxing-some-american-companies-1527940800?mod=mhp
Every one of our trading partners enacts protections for their industries while expecting the USA to allow their products in duty free. Eff them. It’s about time a President reciprocated. I salute Trump for taking action against these one way policies negotiated by the USA’s worst enemy... the State Department.
State = Ivy League traitors.
I think what we’re witnessing is the Art Of the Deal. Trump is moving three-D chess pieces while everybody else is trying to figure out the name of the game. If Trump pulls this off, then our insular “allies” will be forced to open their protected markets to US goods. The reason much of those American made goods have tariffs on them is the high cost of the socialist made products they compete against. American goods without tariffs will take market share by winning on price as well as quality. Ultimately, this may force governments to adjust down their taxes on their own goods.
Leave it to National Globalist Review, run and funded almost entirely by, rich, globalist, conservative dirtbags who will sell out the country for more trade, that is, money in their pocket. These scumbags like the koch brothers, open borders amnesty slime dont care if America is taken over by foreigners as long as they keep making money. Death to all of them.
National Review is just their mouthpiece for their anti american propaganda. They hire dirtbags like Low Lofe Lowry, goldberg, etal in order to try to put a veneer of respectability on their globalist crap.
Exactly. I’m kinda scratching my head over this one because Canada is hardly a problem for the U.S. as a trading partner.
They happen to raise good points on this. Whether a steel tariff is a good idea or a bad idea really just depends on whether you’re SELLING or BUYING steel. And there are far more companies buying steel in the U.S. today than selling it.
That is exactly why Trump says it is a national security issue. If the US must buy foreign made steel, that is a problem in case of war or other national security period. Trump is saying that consideration is more important than companies paying for cheaper steel to make stuff.
If we can’t depend on Canada in a time of war we are in bad shape. This isn’t about national security at all. This is about the steel and aluminum workers unions and management obtaining special favors. They are seeking rent.
Make more steel HERE! AMERICAN steel!
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Where to next?, my president!
WINNING! MORE WINNING!
National Review, Senseless on everything.
Who is your choice for 2020?
This is not really a new issue by any stretch. I worked in the Steel Industry back in the 70s and it was the same then. It required massive investment to modernize factories to make quality steel. Quite a number of countries justified the expense by claiming it was necessary so their military “couldn’t be cut off”. Belgium and China are two i remember but there are plenty more. The problem comes when you try to ramp up “economy of scale” to reduce the unit price. So they intentionally make more steel than they can use. This steel has to be sold on foreign markets at below the cost of actually producing it. Nothing new and they have been doing it to us for decades. For a long time we let them because “at least they aren’t commies”. That is no longer a valid justification but they are so spoiled now they can’t adjust.
European Choices
Trade War
Or, Implement 'Fair Trade' Policies
Choose wisely!
That argument doesn’t work for aluminum, though. Aluminum is smelted from bauxite ore, and almost 100% of this ore is imported — mainly from Asia, Australia and Brazil.
China just started dumping their steel in Canada, Mexico and the EU who turned it around and started dumping it here.
A nation that does not make it’s own metals, especially steel, is a defenseless nation.
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