Senate Trade War

Germany isn't quite highly protectionist; they impose high standards and regulations, and largely gutted their own working class' condition in the past couple of decades to improve their competitiveness rather than raise protections.

 

Germany is actually lower than the U.S. if you average all tariffs. It comes out just under 2% while we are at about 2.80%. That was as of 2016. Germany ends up being among some of the lowest protectionist countries(along with the rest of the EU) globally. Norway, Iceland,Switzerland(which is 0%) are even lower. Germany is in the top 15 lowest along with rest of the common market. We are in the top 40 lowest.

 

What's so maddening is this complete fiction that somehow the U.S. is willing to have unrestricted trade with other countries while the rest of the world doesn't reciprocate. It's nonsense. The agreements the U.S. struck in the past always tilted in their favour.

I mean, in what fantasy land was the most powerful nation in the world going around capitulating and surrendering to other nations until Trump showed up to balance things out and make them fair? I suppose it goes along with the general narrative that America is some kind of benevolent actor whose kindness has been taken advantage of by the rest of the world, and now Trump's here to say "We won't be your patsy any longer!"

 

An example of that Trump trade false narrative is Canada and the EU both, which have lower overall tariffs than the U.S.

 

As has also been pointed out repeatedly by Trudeau, the US doesn't even have a trade deficit with Canada. So what is he complaining about? He is a loud-mouthed, rapacious idiot.

 

Yes, he is complaining about Canada(perhaps one of our closest allies and near-kin)because he is unhinged.

 

@J-Rod , I know you like Tucker Carlson's Daily Caller so I searched their site yesterday and came across this:

http://dailycaller.com/2018/06/26/white-house-restricts-trade/

from this piece:

"While Trump has legitimate complaints against China’s trade practices, his rhetoric against Canada and the EU is largely unjustified, according to over half a dozen economists who spoke with TheDCNF. They also say that barrier-free trade won’t reduce the U.S. trade deficit."

and this:

"Trump “would flunk an economics 101 course if he tried to make the case that trade policy governs or has a big impact on a nation’s trade balance,” Barfield said."

Reading the article also backs up what Rylo Ken suggested that a lack of personal savings and high consumption is what drives the deficit not tariffs. It is just easier for Trump to talk tariffs than urging the American people to consume less and save more. Who wants to hear that in a society thriving on debt and materialism?

 

But he’s educated, therefore biased toward the left. Or facts...I forget which.

 

That kind of misses the point.

The point, which gets lost in the numbers, is the effect of the tariffs.

Given the amounts we import, it's amazing that we don't have the highest tariffs. But in reality we are towards the bottom.

But the point is this: Manufacturing in America is expensive. We have a crushing amount of regulations. We have an extremely high standard of living.

IF we imported a Honda Goldwing from Japan with a price of (just guessing) $14,000 and set it beside a Harley-Davidson Electraglide for $22,000 we would have an issue competing. In order to offer Japanese products here while also having our own, we need to put a tariff on them. Hell, for my purposes I wouldn't care if the tariffs went to the exporting government. Or charged at the point of sale and returned to the manufacturer.

Meanwhile, any amount Japan puts on HD would make competing that much harder because the price is already higher than their domestic offerings. The point is, the imported products should be priced fairly against the cost of the domestic products.

This is just one example of one product in one country.

 

Result: any car or motorbike you buy will become more expensive.
That is a pretty good result. I say we slap tariffs on airlines as well.

 

As long at the prices are the same.

 

I applaud you for finding a solution to combat climate change in a roundabout way.

The bonus is that in a financial crisis even less cars will be on the road. Double whammy.

 

I feel like everyone should have their own car, tho. And I'm not sure why, on those fake news surveys, they count mass trasit as a quantification of "happiness" and not personal ownership of transportation.

But hey, that's how we know those surveys are rigged.

 

People who regularly cite Rasmussen don't get to lecture anyone about 'rigged polls'.

 

In J-Rod's America, cars get prohibitively more expensive but every person owns one, despite the economic relapse.

Just think of lovely things
And your heart will fly on wings
Forever
In Never-Never-Land

 

Some of the posts in here by Rodderz almost makes me think he almost wants an almost communist society. Almost.

 

Funny, I was thinking exactly that - trying to imagine the kind of command economy J-Rod would piece together if he were running the politburo.

 

We had a socialist PM 40 years ago who expressed exactly the same wish.
Make socialism great again.

 

Economic relapse?

 

I gave reasons. Care to dispute?

 

Yes, if everything's getting more expensive, it needs to be set off by rising wages. Your economy's hungry, it must grow. But those car factory workers' wages will not rise. Crisis!

 

So...you're wanting a relapse of the American economy?

 

Preferably not but if it saves our habitat.... Drastic measures, J. Go tariffs.