Terms of Trade = "The conditions under which a nation carries on foreign trade, with reference particularly to the question whether such conditions are favorable or unfavorable." Dictionary of Economics
You are speaking of changing those conditions by making them more favorable.
Your excerpt should be read throughly with particular attention to the admission that elasticities will determine the effect of a FT. It does not support your view as much as you might hope.
Terms of Trade = "The conditions under which a nation carries on foreign trade, with reference particularly to the question whether such conditions are favorable or unfavorable." Dictionary of Economics.
Yep if one is negotiating such.
A change in internal tax system is hardly an item for negotiations where sovereign nations are concerned. Especially in the removal of an impediment to competitive pricing of one's exports through replacing a tax system that disfavors one's competitive stance for a tax system that treats all products alike, domestic manufacture as well a imports.
Such a replacement requires no negotiations or agreements under GATT/WTO or any other agreements.
You are speaking of changing those conditions by making them more favorable.
Not at all, modifying a nation's internal taxes are a matter of sovereign right, in doing so if a nation remove a trade impediment against its own interests which happens to assures equal treatement of all parties there is no "more favorable" it is merely a byproduct yielding a more competitive capability to trade on equal basis instead of from a self-imposed disadvantaged basis.
Your excerpt should be read throughly with particular attention to the admission that elasticities will determine the effect of a FT. It does not support your view as much as you might hope.
The elasticities involved that yield anything at all interms of moving net exports towards balance in the particular situation work against the importer not the U.S. I suggest you analyse the situation abit more carefully as to what is actually being stated. For the elasticity to work to any advantage to an importer an increase in import volumes must occur to close any net export deficits, importer must decrease their tax included price to get anywhere at all, anything else they remain at disadvantage to domestic manufacture.
Sorry but your arguments operate only on the bare margins and at that yield no substantive change in the results of the anlysis of our nation going from an origin-based tax system(e.g. income/payroll taxes) to a destination based tax system (e.g. border neutral consumption taxes) that result in net gain to the U.S. when it undertakes such a transition.