We still should not let China totally take advantage of us and destroy the US economy.
I like Moore, but there is no such thing as free trade.
There are good trade deals and bad trade deals.
I’m for good trade deals.
I love the idea of voluntary taxes.
If someone really wants Chinese goods, why not support our government off that?
Tariffs encourage building up local business while penalizing goods from elsewhere.
Someone who gets worked up over Trump’s tariffs, without mentioning China’s tariffs on our goods, is not honest.
Free trade? WTF is “free trade?” Nothing is free. If people are talking about equalizing tariffs, then the topic is FAIR trade.
I’m a Friedman free-market economist...one of the few who taught at the University level. However, I am making an exception here for the same reasons listed here, but would also like to mention that China subsidizes its shipping costs for Chinese producers. Also, the burden on a tariff increase depends upon the elasticities of supply and demand. The more elastic the demand, the greatest is the burden born by the producer. Likewise for supply. The people arguing against the tariffs want you to think you’ll pay the entire cost of the tariff. Not true. Indeed, substitutes are available for many Chinese products, so most of any tariff is pushed onto the Chinese producer.
While I am not sure of this, my guess is that the demand for our products is more inelastic, which means the burden also falls harder on the Chinese for our imported products.
To the extent that domestic prices do rise, that should induce more domestic production of those goods. On balance, I’m going against my usual position of free markets, mainly to send a message.
China will always cheat. China will always have tariffs on our products. So we have no free trade now, nor will we ever have free trade with China. We need to have nice high tariffs on all Chinese goods coming to America. It has three great affects. One, is that it lowers our debt. Two, is that it lowers the money that China has to spend on Armies, and Islands, and pollution. And third, it helps countries that are actually third world. China is not a a third world country. China has more billionaires than we do. In some cases it may bring jobs back here. But if not, they will go to friendlier countries than China.
The tariffs of Chinese goods could come off practically overnight.
But the Chinese do NOT agree to the rules by which this may be done in an expeditious manner. First, a little quid pro quo. So far, the US has been paying much too great a price, in terms of draining our resources and handicapping ourselves, in return for what have been voluminous quantities of goods of indifferent quality, but cheap, doncha know. And secondly, China has been hiding behind this facade of “emerging nation” now, for what, some four decades or more? They have built their factories and infrastructure as much on simply STEALING our technology, as from their own bootstrap efforts. They look over the products being set up to be manufactured within China, then promptly reverse-engineer them and sell as their own, without compensation to the innovators elsewhere (it is not only from the US they steal technology, just ask the Germans).
Time for the Chinese to get out there and play by the big-boy rules.
I would have to ask Mr. Moore why he hates tariffs and why he says he favors the free market economy which means essentially no government interference.
People who talk about “a level playing field” are talking about government attempting to control supply and demand - certainly not the free market and the quickest way to shortages and a tanked economy.
while I’m happy fair trade seems to be coming about, I have but one concern; that it’s being done too much, too fast.
It could cause an unnecessary shock to the system. I’d have raised the tariffs, say %5 per year until the playing field was level, even advantageous!
“Why free-traders and all Americans should back Trump on China policy”
Why free-traders and all Americans should back Trump on EVERYTHING!
fixed it.
Maybe because China is not interested in free trade but only in the communist party rule “trade”....
bUt tAriffs bAd, nO oNe eVer mAde mOney pRotecting bOrders , iNdustry and pAtents!!!
Although there are those here that will deny it, the purpose of the Trump tariffs, the China tax, is to induce or coerce or force the removal of trade practices considered unfair.
If a modicum of attention is directed to the Trump international actions, it can be seen that both Iran and China have been sorely wounded. The Iranian wound might actually be mortal. China can come to terms
The lesson for all, especially Kim is don’t screw with Trump. He’ll kill ya.
Will be interesting to see if a 25% tax reduces American’s purchases of Chinese made products. Would be nice to see some data regarding USA made equivalents and if they command more than a 25% price premium vs Chinese. If so, then these tariffs may have to be permanent and the trade deficit stays about the same.
FREE TRADE LIE
Never use your opponents’ twisted language.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce sells Privileged Trade because they are too lazy to work.
They deceive with feel good words like open or free.
Republican Rinos would sell their own younger sister as Free Sister, come and get it.
With certain countries the best kind of trade is no trade. China is the poster boy for that philosophy.
It is not possible to discuss USA trade policy without mentioning USA immigration and work visa policy.
Massive legal and illegal immigration, and at least 1.5 million annual work visas, have allowed USA companies to indefinitely postpone critical investments in R&D and in labor saving machines and software.
In the long run, importing low cost foreign workers will do just as much damage to USA industrial companies as importing low cost foreign products.
How stupidly proud these traitors are. They are a historically ignorant myopic fools.
He hates tariffs but I'll bet he loves the income tax. How progressive of him.
“I’m a free-trader and I hate tariffs — which are consumer taxes...”
If tariffs were taxes, they’d be called taxes.
A tariff is a protection, like a wall.
An economic wall.
Marx was a free-trader, George Washington put up tariffs.