The problem with sorting this all out is that there are no doubt all kinds of deals being worked in the background with trade of all kinds for various motives of which the general public has no knowledge. If we did, we'd likely say, "Oh....so THAT'S why we're doing it like this!"
I'm confident that when our Pres says something critical of, let's say Putin in a speech, our diplomats call their diplomats and say, "Hey, we have to say such-and-such a thing in this upcoming press conference because of such-and-such a reason or for such-and-such a group." Then the other side replies, "OK, thanks for letting us know. Now you know we're going to have to say such-and-such and thing in retort because of such-and-such a reason." Yes, we understand." "OK?" "OK." It's all been hashed out before we ever hear it.
Before the era of substantially taxing your own citizens picked up steam in the early 20th century, this country's operating revenue was derived primarily from tariffs.
I believe the USA is still the largest consumer of imports in the world. That's a lot of power. China can't simply sell their goods to someone else as compensation. First, they're probably already doing that. Second, none of these other countries combined could make up for the revenue coming from the USA. Look, our people know this and have researched all this.
A lot of this has to do with the production of wealth, which I've written about at length on other threads. If the USA wants to produce real wealth (not just print Federal Reserve Notes), it has to harness and develop products on its own soil--it has to manufacture. But you can't do this against a competitor who pays labor like $5 a month and has government assistance with things like materials and machinery. Tariffs are the only way to help level what is now a hopelessly lopsided trade environment. Whatever you think of Trump, he is indeed one of the most knowledgeable persons with regard to business and trade who ever held the office. He knows what the dealings are behind the scenes.
Yes, and things might change at the store. Some things we may have to go back to the old mentality of buying quality as an investment and caring for it instead of throwing everything away. We may only own ten pairs of shoes instead of 25. We may not be able to walk into HF and by complete wrench sets for stupid low money. We may have to revert back on some level to the old traditional USA consumer mentality. That may not be such a bad thing. Maybe we'll have to give things more thought when we buy. Remember, it was the American consumer responding to the flooding of cheap Asian imports with, "Yeah! Yeah! Gimme! Gimme! More! More!" that devastated the American mfrs starting in the late 1950s and reaching huge proportions by the late 1960s.
Sure, some US producers will be harmed. But wait....where have you been? Hasn't that already happened in spades? China has been kicking USA producers' butts and wiping the floor with them for decades. Maybe it's time Uncle Sucker fought back a little.
