Huh? CNN's Jim Sciutto Tells Peter Navarro That U.S. Doesn't Collect Tariffs

Newsbusters ^ | October 31, 2019 | P.J. Gladnick

[PJ-Comix]

If there were anyone who should be a candidate for an emergency ego intervention, it has to be CNN anchor Jim Sciutto. At a Citizen by CNN conference last week, Sciutto lectured (and hectored) the Director of Trade and Manufacturing Policy, Peter Navarro over the "fact" that the United States does not collect tariffs.

Sciutto took the idea that the consumer and the manufacturers ultimately pay for the tariffs in the form of increased prices of imported goods to absurdly assert that the United States does not collect tariffs. It wasn't just an unfortunate slip of the tongue on the part of Sciutto because he emphasized his silly assertion twice and both times, as you can see and hear in the video, with an air of superior authority to Navarro who happens to have an extensive academic background in economics.

[PJ-Comix]

If ignorance is bliss then Jim Sciutto must be very happy with his smug self.

[qaz123]

Sciutto took the idea that the consumer and the manufacturers ultimately pay for the tariffs in the form of increased prices of imported goods

However, that is exactly what happens when corporate taxes are raised, increased regulations causing increased compliance and everything else that the Left dreams up to gin up anger in its supporters.

While it’s never been a secret, it’s rather startling how dumb these Left-wing “know it alls” are.

[G Larry]

CNN has gone full bonkers.

In-laws are here and so I see more CNN than normal.

They went over the top alarmist at "new data" showing coastal flooding around the world by 2050.

Claiming that past satellite analysis measured roof top elevations rather than the actual land at sea level.....

Complete idiocy!

[Brilliant]

Well if the US doesn’t collect tariffs then what is he complaining about? Take his complaint to the consumer and businesses.

[Avalon Memories]

Just because someone has a degree or a TV gig does not mean they are intelligent.

[billyboy15]

You actually let them tune to CNN....in your home?

[NELSON111]

In all fairness - I know what he is trying to say. The US government doesn't collect tariffs from, let's say, China. Tariffs on imports are collected by Customs and Border Protection at the Port of Entry. They are paid by the US importer, not the foreign exporter. That is a simple fact. It's not debatable. Most people don't know that. If we slap $200 Billion in tariffs on China - they think that China "pays" the US government $200 BIllion to ship that good over here and import it. That's not true. The US importer pays that tariff at the port of entry.

It is then up to that US importer to decide whether or not they will pass that tariff (which is a tax) on to the US consumer. So when he said "Manufacturers and consumers pay the tariffs" - he is 100% correct.

He is almost 100% correct. I say ALMOST 100% because had he added the "importer" to the manufacturer and consumer, he would have been factually 100% correct, provided the importer decided to eat the tariff he had to pay at the Port of Entry.

[oblomov]

While this is true in the near term, it ignores the economic incentive to relocate manufacturing out of China.
This is already happening in multiple industries.

[G Larry]

I use it as an opportunity to refute CNN lies.

[PJ-Comix]

It would be correct to saw WE collect tariffs which ultimately are paid by manufacturers or consumers but Sciutto denied that tariffs are even collected.

JIM SCIUTTO: We don’t collect tariffs. You know that as well. Everybody in the room knows we don’t collect tariffs. Manufacturers and consumers pay the tariffs.

[PJ-Comix]

It would be correct to saw WE collect tariffs which ultimately are paid by manufacturers or consumers but Sciutto denied that tariffs are even collected.

JIM SCIUTTO: We don’t collect tariffs. You know that as well. Everybody in the room knows we don’t collect tariffs. Manufacturers and consumers pay the tariffs.

[NELSON111]

And that' why I said I know what he was trying to say - he was trying to say China isn't paying them. We DON'T COLLECT TARIFFS [from China] - everyone else ends up paying them because of the fact the importers usually end up passing them onto the consumer. That's just the facts. Tariffs are, in reality, a tax on you and me. China, Europe, Canada, whoever doesn't pay tariffs initially.

And just like corporate taxes, which corporations don't pay but pass on to the consumer, importers pass tariffs on to the manufacturers and consumers. That's the price of the business and everyone who actually knows how this works knows it.

[central_va]

Tariffs promote domestic industry which is WHY THEY ARE GREAT!!!

[central_va]

Repeat after me: Tariffs are good, income taxes evil bad.

[Vlad The Inhaler]

[hinckley buzzard]

Whoever “pays” the tariff, does it not end up being collected by the government?

[monkeyshine]

Well of course they collect tariffs.

If you take Sciutto’s argument though he’s arguing a “rightist” argument which is that Corporations don’t pay income taxes. Consumers pay them by buying the goods from the Corporations. No 20% tax rate, Corporations can lower prices by more than 20% (no compliance costs to pass on either).

On Tariffs, Scuitto is wrong and the analogy doesn’t fit as neatly. Yes the US collects tariffs. The consumer may or may not pay for them, depending on the item/origin. Some importers from China have dropped their prices on goods - especially intermediary component suppliers - to cover some or all of the cost of the tariff. So if an item used to cost $10, now costs $10+$3, the company sells it for $7.90, passes along $2.1 in tariffs and it still only costs the buyer $10. Not in all cases, some cases the increase cost is split but out of China they are subsidizing a great deal the cost on many of the tariffs so the end user is not forcing consumers to bear the full cost.

[monkeyshine]

I don’t know if that is what he was trying to say, but fair enough. However, it is silly to think that Chinese suppliers are not also chipping in. They are dropping their prices because they get all kinds of incentives and subsidies from the Chinese government (as well as of course the competitive need to have competitive pricing), so the effect of the tariff is lower (30% of $10 vs 30% of $8.10) and the net cost increase is less dramatic. See my post above.

[cba123]

Exactly.