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We Didn’t Start the Trade War—We’ve Just Finally Joined It
American Thinker ^ | 6 Apr, 2025 | Charlton Allen

Posted on 04/06/2025 7:33:22 AM PDT by MtnClimber

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To: volare737

You must be living under a rock.

The whole world is reacting saying the chart is totally wrong in a bipartisan way.
Even Elon Musk says the tariffs with EU are bad. It should be mutually ZERO!
Zero is what I have advocated for many times before here on FR.

And again. the EU is has NEVER put 39% tariffs on America. The EU average tariff on America is max 4.9% according to the WTO.

4.9% is not 39%. Right?

Stating facts in not based on being far-right, far-left or center.
Facts are facts. We have to deal with them.

It looks like the chart was made with CHAT GPT...


61 posted on 04/06/2025 9:50:52 AM PDT by USA-FRANCE (The Iran-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance is at war against Israel and Ukraine. Let's not forget.)
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To: enumerated

“One of the sad truths of life is that if you become dependent on others, you will be taken advantage of. That’s just human nature.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>

I agree on that.


62 posted on 04/06/2025 9:54:56 AM PDT by USA-FRANCE (The Iran-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance is at war against Israel and Ukraine. Let's not forget.)
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To: USA-FRANCE

As usual, you conveniently ignore the non tariff restrictions — which are just as restrictive, and in many cases, even more restrictive! Get out from under that rock.


63 posted on 04/06/2025 10:04:00 AM PDT by volare737 (Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated.)
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To: USA-FRANCE

That chart looks like it was made by CHATGPt so that the average democrat, MSM, or democrat could understand it!


64 posted on 04/06/2025 10:16:55 AM PDT by volare737 (Diversity is something to be overcome, not celebrated.)
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To: MtnClimber

Excellent article. Hits all the right points. Thanks for posting it.


65 posted on 04/06/2025 10:36:24 AM PDT by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: volare737

Thanks volare...


66 posted on 04/06/2025 11:00:15 AM PDT by GOPJ (Cheaper for Soros to 'rent a small mob' for Town Halls than buy BLM thugs to burn down cities. )
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To: USA-FRANCE

This is what I call madness, and has nothing to do with true conservatism.
May this error be corrected very soon.

**********************
The 10% baseline tariffs won’t be going down anytime soon.

You want to import to the United States, you’re paying 10% no matter what trade policies the counter party country’s trade position is.


67 posted on 04/06/2025 11:00:35 AM PDT by unclebankster (Globalism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. )
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To: MtnClimber

.


68 posted on 04/06/2025 11:01:48 AM PDT by sauropod (Make sure Satan has to climb over a lot of Scripture to get to you. John MacArthur Ne supra crepidam)
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To: MtnClimber

bttt


69 posted on 04/06/2025 11:03:43 AM PDT by linMcHlp
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To: AndyJackson

You can’t offshore and re-import back to the USA if the USA has import tariffs now can you?


70 posted on 04/06/2025 11:05:09 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: MtnClimber

Finally-

Free trade: Yes

Everyone knows that it’s the best way for all.

But what you’ve had is unfair trade (win-lose situation) where we accept this one sided situation that puts us at a disadvantage.

MOST nations have niche industries they try to protect or have an industrial policy that favors exports and discourages imports. Even we protect the pharma industry for example.

There are literally a thousand different ways that these games can be played using environmental, safety regulations or tax codes.

Historical attempts at fixing this have failed because they focus on the details, the specific actions a nation is taking which restricts free trade. The problem with that is even before the ink dries on some agreement, new creative ways are introduced that accomplish the same goal of restricting imports while promoting exports in some way that circumvent the new agreement.

Trump simply accepts reality and instead of focusing on some specific policy he focuses on the “bottom line” which is a trade deficit.

Trump’s approach is to make them fix themselves, or don’t trade with us.

What is presented as dumb and backward in our idiotic MSM which labels anything Trump does as bad automatically, in some knee jerk reaction, is actually pragmatic realism, cold, calculated, and FORCES action by those nations playing the various games.


71 posted on 04/06/2025 11:05:36 AM PDT by Red6
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To: GOPJ
Trump’s going for the long run. The world’s ‘elites’ want the gravy train to keep running - just like NATO and every other group ripping off the United States wanted to keep ripping us off. Not gonna happen... the deep state lost, NATO deadbeats lost, and countries ripping us off with tariffs will lose too.
72 posted on 04/06/2025 11:06:29 AM PDT by GOPJ (Elites want the gravy train to keep ripping us off for NATO, Tariffs and bad trade deals. NO MORE.)
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To: MtnClimber

Y-you mean we didn’t start the fire?
It was always burning?


73 posted on 04/06/2025 11:07:02 AM PDT by Eleutheria5 (Every Goliath has his David. Child in need ofand thhere we CGM system. https://gofund.me/6452dbf1. )
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To: USA-FRANCE

In essence, we’ve become the world’s most efficient economic colony—consuming goods we no longer make, patrolling seas we no longer dominate, and outsourcing our jobs and judgment to multinational boards, supranational bureaucrats, and foreign—often adversarial—governments.


74 posted on 04/06/2025 11:10:30 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: unclebankster

“The 10% baseline tariffs won’t be going down anytime soon.
You want to import to the United States, you’re paying 10% no matter what trade policies the counter party country’s trade position is.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

10% is doable, every side can adapt to that, and there will evidently be further negotiations / optimizations on certain goods after that, on a case by case basis.


75 posted on 04/06/2025 11:11:25 AM PDT by USA-FRANCE (The Iran-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance is at war against Israel and Ukraine. Let's not forget.)
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To: Eleutheria5
We didn't start the fire

It was always burning, since the world's been turning

We didn't start the fire

No, we didn't light it, but we tried to fight it

76 posted on 04/06/2025 11:21:56 AM PDT by MtnClimber (For photos of scenery, wildlife and climbing, click on my screen name for my FR home page.)
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To: central_va

“In essence, we’ve become the world’s most efficient economic colony—consuming goods we no longer make, patrolling seas we no longer dominate, and outsourcing our jobs and judgment to multinational boards, supranational bureaucrats, and foreign—often adversarial—governments.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>><

I agree.
Foreign countries didn’t do that to us. We MADE those countries treat us that way by consiously outsourcing our jobs to them... because we found workers are 5 times less expensive abroad. All done for profit, neglecting the American worker. We have put ourselves in this situation - that is the sad part.
50% of Teslas production is in China...
Nearly all Apple iPhone productions are in Asia... etc...
These are American decisions.


77 posted on 04/06/2025 11:26:17 AM PDT by USA-FRANCE (The Iran-Russia-North Korea-China Alliance is at war against Israel and Ukraine. Let's not forget.)
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To: central_va

That is my point. When it became the fashion for US businesses to offshore production advised by consulting companies like McKinsey, we started a war on ourselves. The tariffs are just another step.


78 posted on 04/06/2025 11:46:55 AM PDT by AndyJackson
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To: AndyJackson
IMO the elitist managerial class, with the help of the Clintons and Bushs, declared open warfare on the middle class. With all due prejudice.

Politically, after 30 years of this destructive globalist BS, the middle 50-60% of Americans are without political representation. Neither party is really representing the working class, the down trodden invisible man. Trump is an anomaly, a one off.

79 posted on 04/06/2025 11:53:48 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn...)
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To: MtnClimber

NAFTA, Rust Belt, Forgotten Folk
AWFL’s obsessing on Woke...


80 posted on 04/06/2025 12:15:51 PM PDT by Eleutheria5 (Every Goliath has his David. Child in need ofand thhere we CGM system. https://gofund.me/6452dbf1. )
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